B-R-E-A-K-I-N-G: COSON slams N2 billion suit against Access Bank

BY OUR EDITOR

Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) Tuesday filed a suit at the Federal High Court, Lagos, against Access Bank PLC, claiming the sum of N2 billion from the bank for unlawful seizure of money belonging to the society.

A statement by COSON’s head of communication, Tolu Balogun, said the suit, No. FHC/L/CS/1777/2019, accompanied by a 40-paragraph Statement of Claim and 18 exhibits, was filed by the law firm of Whitedove Solicitors, led by Mr. James Ononiwu.

COSON, one of Africa’s most successful collective management organisations (CMOs), is asking for a declaration that the freezing of its accounts with Access Bank without any order of the court is illegal, unlawful, null and void.

The organization which pays royalties to musicians across the country has also asked the Federal High Court for an order directing Access Bank to immediately unfreeze its accounts with the bank and release all restrictions placed on COSON from running the accounts.

Beyond that, COSON is claiming a total of N2 billion as general and special damages as well as damages for the loss of reputation and goodwill, arising from the deception of the Defendant and an order of perpetual injunction restraining Access Bank or its agents, privies or servants from further freezing COSON’s accounts or placing any restrictions on the accounts, without a valid court order.

In its statement of claim, COSON stated that it had neither borrowed money from Access Bank nor ever overdrawn from its accounts with the bank and that as a result of the continued freezing of its accounts by Access Bank, royalties due to the members and affiliates of COSON have been significantly unpaid, causing tremendous consternation and instability within the Plaintiff.

The copyright organisation said that it believed that if the court did not intervene to put a stop to the vicious behaviour of Access Bank to COSON, the bank would be emboldened to continue to be lawless and to seize the funds belonging to other of its customers.

COSON also said that the behaviour of Access Bank strongly demonstrated that it had special interest in withholding the funds and was acting a script to grind the Society to a halt. It added that the bank had taken extraordinary steps to continue to withhold the funds entrusted to it (the bank) even where COSON, the customer, had done nothing wrong.