The Record Label Proprietors Initiative (ReLPI) has obtained a court order freezing assets of the Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria (MCSN) in a dispute over the distribution of N1.2 billion copyright levy.
The conflict arose after the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) disbursed the first tranche of the copyright levy, approximately N1.2 billion to MCSN in early February 2026.
ReLPI filed suit FHC/L/CS/207/2026 at the Federal High Court in Lagos. It requested a Mareva Injunction to prevent MCSN from dissipating or transferring assets abroad during the proceedings.
The order also restrains the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), 20 specified banks, and other financial institutions from releasing, transferring, or honoring any payment instructions from MCSN related to copyright levy funds for sound recordings.
This applies pending the hearing of the substantive case. On February 18, 2026, Honourable Justice A. Lewis-Allagoa granted the injunction and adjourned the matter to March 12, 2026.
MCSN described the payment as compensation for private copying of musical works and sound recordings, marking the first implementation of the statutory levy under the Copyright Act 2022. MCSN, led by Mayo Ayilaran, stated that registered members (songwriters, producers, independent artists, publishers, performers, and record labels) would receive distributions.
It criticised ReLPI as a group of labels that do not represent the wider interests of Nigerian artists or the music ecosystem.
Tega Oghenejobo, the president of ReLPI, who represents major labels including Mavin Records, Chocolate City, Davido Music Worldwide (DMW), Premier Records, and international affiliates such as Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group, argued in a press statement that the NCC’s decision to pay the levy exclusively to MCSN is incorrect.
ReLPI’s key position is that Section 89(3) of the Copyright Act permits payments to representatives of rights owners. It maintains that MCSN is primarily authorized to manage royalties for musical works (compositions), not sound recordings, which belong to producers and labels.
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Labels, ReLPI says, should receive their portion through designated representatives or mechanisms, and many have opted out of MCSN’s collective management due to lack of trust in the system. ReLPI insists its legal action seeks to promote transparency, fairness, and proper sanitation of Nigeria’s royalty collection system, rather than to directly oppose MCSN.
The group claims the current approach risks excluding legitimate sound recording rights owners from benefits. The case raises broader questions about MCSN’s mandate to represent all categories of rights holders—particularly those who have not assigned rights to it—and the equitable division of levy funds between musical works and sound recordings.
The dispute highlights tensions in Nigeria’s collective management framework as the copyright levy system becomes operational after years of delay.
