Amaju Pinnick, the former President of the Nigeria Football Federation and the organizer of the annual 'Warri Again Concert,' has initiated a legal action, seeking N2.3 billion in damages from the popular singer, David Adedeji Adeleke, widely known as Davido, for an alleged breach of their contractual agreement. Davido's music label, Davido Music Worldwide Limited, is also named as a defendant in the case.
In the lawsuit, filed under the name of Brownhill Investments Company Limited, and represented by their counsel, Kelechi Onwuegbuchulem, they are requesting the court to award N2 billion as general damages against Davido. Additionally, the company is seeking N150 million for legal and professional fees and an extra N30 million to cover the cost of filing the lawsuit. They are also demanding an order for Davido and his music label to issue a public apology on all of Davido's social media accounts and two national newspapers over four consecutive days to the claimant and event attendees.
According to the company's statement of claim, in early 2023, Davido approached Amaju Pinnick, the company's chairman, at the Abuja Airport. At that time, he expressed interest in performing at the 19th edition of the "Warri Again" event, scheduled for October 6, 2023. However, Pinnick was initially hesitant due to past experiences in which Davido failed to appear at the 2014 and 2019 editions of the same event after being paid, necessitating refunds.
Believing that Davido had changed and hoping for a successful partnership, an agreement was reached for him to perform as the headline artist at the 19th edition. The performance agreement, dated March 30, 2023, stipulated a performance fee of N70 million, which Davido's side insisted should be paid in full upfront. A payment of US$94,500 (equivalent to N70 million) was made on April 6, 2023, and acknowledged by the defendants.
Following the payment and confirmation, Davido created a promotional video confirming his attendance and performance at the event. The claimant invested substantial resources in promoting the event through print and social media advertisements.
A formal reminder letter was sent to Davido a week before the event, along with the flight itinerary for a private jet chartered to transport him and his team to and from the event in Warri, Delta State. The claimant incurred an additional expense of $18,000 to secure the private jet. However, on October 6, 2023, all attempts to contact the defendants failed.
Despite the absence of Davido, the private jet remained on standby at the Lagos Airport. The claimant issued a public notice, confirming that all contractual obligations were met, and no communication from the defendants regarding Davido's attendance was received.
During the event, Amaju Pinnick addressed the attendees, apologizing for Davido's non-appearance. He explained that all contractual obligations were fulfilled, but Davido deliberately chose not to perform. Pinnick revealed that an additional artist, Crown Uzama, was secured at an unexpected cost to compensate for Davido's absence.
Davido responded by using his extensive social media influence to post insulting, defamatory remarks, threats, and offensive content directed at Pinnick on platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, and X (formerly Twitter).
The claimant refuted Davido's claim that he had informed them in advance of his inability to attend the event, asserting that no such communication had occurred. They also mentioned that Davido's history of reneging on contracts after receiving payments was a common issue among other show promoters and individuals.
Consequently, Amaju and his company have asked for the payment of $94,500 as full payment for engaging the services of the 1st defendant, Davido. It is also demanding an order directing the defendants jointly to tender a public apology on their social media accounts/handles and in two national daily newspapers for four consecutive days.
It further asked the court for an order of injunction restraining the 1st defendant from performing as a musical artiste at any show/event in Nigeria until he refunds the sum of $94,500.
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