Brownhill Investments Company Limited, the organizers of the annual ‘Warri Again Concert’, have taken legal action against popular hip-hop artist Davido, also known as David Adeleke, seeking compensation amounting to N2.3 billion. This lawsuit has been filed in the Delta State High Court in Effurun, marked as EHC/183/2023.
The lawsuit, brought forth by Brownhill Investments Company Limited, owned by former Nigeria Football Federation President Mr. Amaju Pinnick, is claiming N2 billion as general damages against Davido and his music label, Davido Music Worldwide Limited. Additionally, they are requesting N150 million for legal and professional fees, along with an extra N30 million as the cost of filing the suit.
One of the key requests within the suit is for Davido to issue a public apology on all of his social media accounts and in two national daily newspapers for four consecutive days, directed to the claimant and the attendees of the event.
According to the claimant’s statement, Davido approached Pinnick in early 2023 at the Abuja Airport, expressing interest in performing at the 19th edition of the ‘Warri Again Concert’ scheduled for October 6, 2023. Although Pinnick initially hesitated, they eventually settled on a performance fee of N70 million.
The lawsuit states that an equivalent of N70 million, amounting to US$94,500.00, was duly paid on April 6, 2023, and acknowledged by the defendants. Despite Davido’s initial promotional efforts for the event, he failed to appear on the scheduled date.
The claimant incurred substantial expenses in advertising and promotion for the event. A formal reminder was sent to Davido a week before the event, including the flight itinerary for a private jet chartered to transport him and his team to and from Warri, Delta State, incurring an additional $18,000 in expenses.
Despite the preparations made, Davido and his team were unreachable on the day of the event, and even with a private jet on standby in Lagos, they did not attend.
As a result, Pinnick’s company is seeking the payment of $94,500 as compensation for engaging Davido’s services, citing his failure to honor the agreement made for the concert performance.
