COSON Flaws MCSN Approval, Demands Suspension Of Two Justice Ministry Officials

COSON Chairman Chief Tony Okoroji speaking at the COSON Big Conference with COSON Directors, Alhaji Sikiru Agboola, Mr. Joel Ajayi and Mr. Efe Omorogbe

The Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) has flayed the reported orders of the Attorney-General of the Federation that Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria Ltd (MCSN) be approved as a collecting society.

Speaking in Lagos at a recent press briefing at the society’s headquarters, COSON Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji said emphatically that MCSN has not been approved.

According to him, there are laid down processes for the approval of a collective management organization in Nigeria.

“It is not just that due process was not followed, no process whatsoever was followed. This is like building something on nothing. It cannot stand,” said Okoroji, the former president of PMAN,

The celebrated author of the book, “Copyright & the New Millionaires” raised a number of questions which he answered. 

His words: “Did MCSN send an application to the NCC in the prescribed form as required under the Regulations? The answer is a blatant NO.

“Did MCSN pay the prescribed fee to the federal government as required under the Regulations? The answer again is a blatant NO.

 “Has MCSN shown anyone the proof of payment of the prescribed fee? The answer of course is another blatant NO.

“Did MCSN submit the many documents required to be submitted to the NCC under the regulations which documents are required to be evaluated before the grant of any approval.  The answer once again is an unqualified NO.

“Who carried out the evaluation of the MCSN Application and when?

Okoroji added, “Is it not funny that what Nigerians are being told is that someone who never registered for an exam, never paid the exam fee and never sat for the exam has passed! How?”

He alleged that the purported approval of MCSN Ltd, is indeed the product of a conspiracy hatched by MCSN’s henchman, Mayo Ayilaran who is facing trial at the Federal High Court before several judges in seven different criminal cases filed by the Federal Government.

According to Okoroji, as “Having run out of options with trial imminent and possible jail term looming, the never-say-die Ayilaran, in desperation contacted his mole at the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. Salihu Othman Isah, the S.A. Media to the AGF, to save him from jail.

“And so the conspiracy was hatched to take advantage of the fact that the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami is an incredibly busy public officer with scanty knowledge of the history of the copyright system in Nigeria. Pressure was therefore brought on the AGF by Mr. Othman Isa and some of his cohorts in the ministry which from recent developments include  Sylvester Imhanobe, a senior assistant to the AGF.

“As April drew closer and the trial of Ayilaran and MCSN became imminent, Ayilaran who is not a singer, a songwriter, a music publisher, a label owner or an investor of any kind in the music industry, began to increase his pressure on Salihu Othman Isa who in turn began a relentless effort to influence his boss, the very busy Attorney-General of the Federation who was told that the MCSN approval and the truncating of the Mayo Ayilaran trial were in line with the desire of a wide section of the music industry in Nigeria!

“Othman Isa who himself is not known to be associated in any way with the music industry became the spokesperson of the industry. Isa who may never have attended a copyright class in his life became the nation’s big expert on copyright, prodding the AGF to sign on to the stunning directive that has brought the entire copyright system in Nigerian into confusion, opened old wounds resulting into an uproar in the music industry in Nigeria and making the copyright system in our country the joke of the world”

To restore some sanity into the system, Okoroji offered some solutions. 

“Just like it was done by President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2005, there should be an immediate withdrawal of any letter or document suggesting or purporting that the criminal organization run by Mayo Ayilaran and called Musical Copyright Society Nigeria Ltd (MCSN) has been authorized or approved to collect royalties on behalf of innocent Nigerian musicians and other music industry stakeholders or to operate in Nigeria as a collective management organization.

“No further attempt should be allowed to be made by any official of the Federal Government to scuttle or torpedo the ongoing criminal trial of Mayo Ayilaran and MCSN Ltd in the 7 different cases before several judges of the Federal High Court, Lagos.

“Mr Ayilaran who is presently on bail and MCSN Ltd should be diligently prosecuted and their prosecution should be transparent and open as deserving of every Nigerian citizen and no pressure whatsoever should be brought on any of the judges before whom they are being prosecuted so that at the end of the day, it will be established whether they are indeed guilty or not of the crimes of which they have been accused.

 “Mr. Saliu Othman Isah and Mr. Sylvester Imhanobe, implicated in the misuse of their closeness to the Attorney-General of the Federation in the clandestine effort to wreck the criminal trial of Mayo Ayilaran and MCSN Ltd, and who may have inflicted a big stain on President Buhari’s war against corruption should be suspended immediately from office and a proper investigation be carried out on their activities.

 “An urgent and thorough audit should be carried out on the staff of the Federal Ministry of Justice to fish out the moles within the system and to ensure that there are no other persons in the employ of the ministry who are deploying the enormous powers of the AGF in the pursuit of objectives that are against national interest.

“The AGF should keep the promise he made to a COSON delegation in November 2016 to strengthen the copyright system in the country so that the system can effectively protect and promote creative enterprise in the nation and ensure that the Nigerian economy benefits from the creative ingenuity of Nigerian citizens and those interested in investing in our creative industries.