-
Davido Given 21-Day Ultimatum by U.S. Court Over ‘Strawberry on Ice’ Intellectual Property Dispute
The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has given Nigerian music superstar Davido a 21-day ultimatum following an alleged intellectual property dispute over the song Strawberry on Ice.
According to reports from People’s Gazette, the lawsuit was filed by four Nigerian artists—Martins Chukwuka Emmanuel, Abel Great Umaru, Kelvin Ayodele Campbell, and David Ovhioghena Umaru—who claim that Davido stole their 2022 track Work to create his 2024 release, Strawberry on Ice.
The lawsuit also names the artists featured on Davido’s song, including Emmerson, along with Carlos Jenkins, Matthew Quinney, Marques Miles II, and Wynn Records, the record label involved.
The plaintiffs allege that they initially presented the song Work to Davido for a potential collaboration. However, they claim that Davido instead took the track to Emmerson, who allegedly sampled both the instrumental and vocal elements of Work to create Strawberry on Ice without authorization.
In March 2025, court documents revealed that Davido and his team agreed to settle the matter by paying the plaintiffs a lump sum of $45,000.
In addition, Davido agreed to give them 40% of the royalties from the song’s underlying composition and 20% of the royalties from its sound recording. Despite the agreement, Davido reportedly failed to honor the settlement terms by missing the March 24 deadline.
As a result, the court has now issued a 21-day ultimatum, demanding that Davido resolve the issue or face further legal consequences.