Davido sued for defamation and breach of contract

The lawsuit, filed in Delta State High Court, is centred on allegations of cyberbullying and defamation by Davido, who is accused of “making incendiary posts on social media in October that put Pinnick’s life and the safety of his immediate family in grave danger.”

It also pertains to Davido’s failure to fulfill a performance commitment. Davido’s company Davido Music Worldwide had signed a performance agreement with BrownHill Event Inc, owned by Pinnick, on 30 March. Pinnick was initially hesitant, pointing out that Davido has a history of reneging on contracts and engagements after receiving payments, but eventually gave the greenlight, “believing that Davido had changed his ways.”

The deal committed the musician to perform at Warri Again on 6 October. The contract, which was signed by Davido’s agent, Soso Soberekon, stipulated that the artist would perform for a minimum of 55 minutes at the event.”

It was agreed that Davido’s performance fee for the 19th edition of Warri Again would be ₦70m (about $88 000), which had to be paid in full in advance. The claimant alleged that they paid an equivalent of ₦70m on 6 April, which was acknowledged by the defendants. Davido also did a promotional video confirming his attendance at the event.

The claimant invested in promotional and advertorial efforts, projecting Davido as the headline performer. A week before the event, a reminder letter was sent to Davido. The claimant spent an additional $18 000 to secure the private jet.

However, Davido failed to attend the event, and all attempts to reach him on the day were unsuccessful. As a result, the claimant addressed the disappointed attendees, explaining that Davido deliberately refused to perform.

Amaju Pinnick also stated that he had secured the performance of another artist, Crown Uzama, going by the stage Shallipopi, to make up for Davido’s absence. In response, Pinnick alleged that Davido used his social media influence to post insults, threats and defamatory remarks against him.

Davido claimed on his Instagram story that he had informed the claimant months earlier of his inability to attend the event, which the claimant denies.

This led to a heated exchange on social media. In one Instagram post, Davido said: “If I am returning any money, I will return it to any football charity organisation. In fact, I will double it. Mr Dream Crusher, imagine how many Nigerian footballers have had their dreams crushed because a person wants to live in Ikoyi by force.” The “Mr Dream Crusher” reference was widely interpreted as an allusion to Amaju Pinnick, who had served as the president of the NFF for eight years.

In another post, Davido reacted to a video, stating, “The man that dropped from the RR [Rolls Royce] is Amaju Pinnick. He was NFF president for just eight years. He was charged for allegedly misappropriating $8.4m paid by FIFA to NFF. I won’t mention allegations of unpaid allowances by players when he was the president. Let’s play a game.”

These statements were deemed defamatory and incendiary by Amaju Pinnick, and he subsequently decided to take legal action. In his statement of claim to the court, Pinnick expressed that these statements implied that he was a thief and that he lived in Ikoyi because he had “crushed the dreams of several Nigerian footballers.”

Pinnick elaborated on the harm caused by Davido’s social media influence, stating that the artist subjected him to cyberbullying, stalking and harassment following the defamatory posts. The former NFF president asserted that Davido’s aim was to “lower the esteem of his person in the eyes of ordinary persons and generally bring him to ridicule, derision, and opprobrium.”

Amaju Pinnick’s company is seeking financial restitutiuon, including a refund of the ₦70m, a public apology, and an injunction restraining Davido from performing at any event in Nigeria until the refund is made.

A federal high court has granted Amaju Pinnick an order to serve legal documents and notices to Davido, with a motion for interlocutory injunction scheduled for 23 November in Delta State.