An interim Mareva injunction has been issued by a Federal High Court in Lagos State, prohibiting the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and 20 commercial banks from disbursing or releasing copyright levy funds due to the Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria (MCSN) until further proceedings are held.
Access Bank Plc, Citi Bank Nigeria Limited, Fidelity Bank Nigeria Plc, First Bank of Nigeria Plc, First City Monument Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Heritage Bank Plc, Keystone Bank Limited, Skye Bank Plc, Stanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria Limited, Standard Chartered Bank, Unity Bank Plc, Wema Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, Ecobank Nigeria Limited, SunTrust Bank Nigeria Limited, and Enterprise Bank Limited are among the banks mentioned in the application, according to Naija News.
After Record Label Proprietors’ Initiative and eleven prominent record labels and music corporations filed an ex parte application on February 5, 2026, Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa issued the ruling in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/207/2026.
Digital Music Commerce & Exchange Limited (DMCE), Beggars Group Media Limited, Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment Africa, Warner Music South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Gamma Media Middle East DMCC, Davido Music Worldwide Ltd, Premier Music Publishing Limited, Chocolate City Music Limited, Hypertek Digital Limited, and Mavin Records Ltd are among the plaintiffs.
The lawsuit is being filed by the second through the twelfth plaintiffs via Record Label Proprietors’ Initiative, their legal representative.
The plaintiffs requested an order prohibiting the CBN from distributing, releasing, transferring, or otherwise paying out any copyright levy funds attributable to sound recordings and intended for MCSN, pending the hearing and decision of a Motion on Notice. Oragwu Nnamdi filed and argued the motion ex parte.
Additionally, they requested that the court prohibit MCSN, its agents, servants, or privies from receiving, accessing, withdrawing, transferring, dissipating, or otherwise handling any copyright levy money, whether they were received by the CBN directly or through commercial banks.
The applicants also requested an order requiring the CBN and the impacted banks to protect all of these funds and submit affidavits of compliance revealing the amounts owed to MCSN for the levy payments within three days of the order’s service.
In approving the application, Justice Lewis-Allagoa prohibited the CBN, its officers, agents, or anyone else operating under its direction from paying out any money from the copyright levy that was due to sound recordings and owed to MCSN until the Motion on Notice was resolved.
Additionally, whether the funds had already been received or had not yet been disbursed, the court prohibited MCSN from accepting, accessing, using, withdrawing, transferring, converting, dissipating, or dealing with them in any other way.
Within three days of receiving the order, the judge ordered the CBN and the named banks to retain the contested amounts and submit affidavits of compliance that disclosed the amounts owed to MCSN for the levy payments that were either designated for release or had already been disbursed.
In addition, the court mandated that any copyright levy money that MCSN had previously received and that was related to sound recordings that belonged to the second through twelfth plaintiffs—who had legitimately chosen not to participate in the collective management and administration of their rights—be kept unaltered.
Additionally, MCSN was instructed to provide an accounting of these funds and to stop doing business with them until the Motion on Notice was heard.
Oragwu Nnamdi, the plaintiffs’/applicants’ attorney, filed the application during the ex parte hearing.
Following consideration of the submissions, the court granted the requested orders and postponed the hearing of the Motion on Notice until March 12, 2026.
