COSON Laughs At NCC’s New Twisted Logic & Propaganda

BY BERNICE ERIEMEGHE ASHIBUOGWU

Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), Nigeria’s biggest copyright collective management organization, is very amused at the frustration and desperation being exhibited by some officers of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), who are now recklessly deploying lies, half-truths, twisted logic and rabid propaganda in their failed attempt to bring down COSON.

Everyone in the creative industry knows that these officers of the NCC are afraid that time is running out on them as the present regime is fast coming to an end and their godfathers on whose behalf, they have tried to take over COSON, will soon leave office so, they are distributing all kinds of lies and half-truths in their desperate attempt to bring down COSON.

COSON once again states that Nigeria is a democracy and not an autocracy or a dictatorship and that the NCC is not a court of law and it is a joke for any officer of the NCC to attempt to pass judgment on any matter that is sub-judice.

COSON is not a government agency but a very successful independent private sector organization which has stoutly used the law to resist the obnoxious attempt by officers of the NCC to impose a leadership on COSON that can be manipulated to the benefit of those officers of the regime who want to milk collective management of copyright in Nigeria for themselves at the expense of Nigerian artistes and the creative industry who are the owners COSON.

Like much of the oddities in present day Nigeria, rather than serve and promote the interest of the citizens, these officers of the NCC are using the power of the Nigerian government to serve themselves, their godfathers and their cronies to acquire more wealth.

COSON, which is well known to be Nigeria’s most successful copyright organization, is determined to outlast them and their wickedness and lawlessness. Is it not shameful that instead of fighting piracy which it is set up to do, NCC is fighting COSON?

In our earlier statement during the week, COSON stated the legal status of several cases which have made it blatantly unlawful for the NCC or its godfathers to impose their will on COSON. The recent statement issued by Vincent Oyefeso, the NCC Director of Public Affairs, has in no way disputed the status of any of the cases stated by COSON.

Is it not therefore laughable that in trying to mislead the public with half-truths, Mr. Oyefeso refers to an interlocutory decision in Suit No FHC/L/CS 425/2020 without stating the fact that the decision has been appealed in Appeal No CA/LAG/CV/166/2022? It is in the same manner that he referred to a decision in Suit No FHC/L/CS/274/2010 without also stating the fact that the decision has been appealed in Appeal No CA/LAG/CV/778/2020. The NCC has no power to make decisions for the Court of Appeal.

Once again, the public is hereby notified that COSON continues to operate lawfully and at no time has COSON ceded the rights to license any of the millions of musical works and sound recordings lawfully assigned to COSON domestically and internationally, to the controversial MCSN whose purported approval by the NCC is still being stoutly challenged in court and no one including the Nigerian Copyright Commission is empowered by law to authorize MCSN to license works in the COSON repertoire.

Musical works and sound recordings are intellectual property belonging to citizens and recognized as such by the Nigerian constitution.

They are not the property of government, the ownership or management of which can be transferred by government or any of its agencies to anyone else.

The public is once again warned that anyone paying MCSN for the use of works in the COSON repertoire is doing so at his or her own very high risk.

The undersigned is a distinguished accountant. I am very proud to state unequivocally that COSON remains the only organization in the history of the Nigerian creative industry to subject itself to full financial audit every year since its inception.

I am also proud to state that COSON has also recently gone ahead to subject itself to a successful total forensic audit by one of the best- known auditing firms in the world and anyone can verify. We cannot help laughing at the idea of the Nigerian Copyright Commission bringing up the issue of financial audit. We challenge the NCC to present evidence of meeting the level of transparency and accountability exhibited by COSON for the public to see.

The determination of COSON to remain a transparent and law -abiding agent of strength, unity, progress and growth for the music industry in Nigeria remains rock solid.

No amount of this pathetic propaganda or intimidation or twisted logic will shake the determination of the leadership of COSON to shield the Nigerian music industry from scammers and marauders who want to turn collective management of copyright to their personal cash cow and naira gushing ATM.

Ms. Bernice Eriemeghe Ashibuogwu is the General Manager/CEO of COSON