A federal high court in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Thursday struck out the criminal case about the alleged secret sale of Burna Boy’s early music catalogue. The court also criticised the police for what it called a careless approach to handling the intellectual property dispute.
The lawsuit began because of a disagreement over the sale of Burna Boy’s early catalogue. It also included claims of fraud and breach of trust against Aristokrat Records and its founder, Piriye Isokrari.
960 Music Group, which owns a minority share, took legal action to try to reverse the multimillion-dollar sale of Burna Boy’s catalogue from his old label, Aristokrat Music, to his current company, Spaceship Music.
Court documents show that Aristokrat Music sold the intellectual property and master recordings from Burna Boy’s early years to Spaceship Music, which is owned by the artist, his mother, and his manager, Bose Ogulu. The sale took place in May or June 2024.
960 Music Group, which owns 40% of Aristokrat Music, said it was excluded from the process.
The catalogue covers the albums ‘L.I.F.E’ (2013) and ‘Redemption’ (2016), along with early singles that helped shape Burna Boy’s Afro-fusion style.
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After the sale, 960 Music Group filed a lawsuit to try to cancel the deal. The disagreement grew, and criminal charges were later brought against Isokrari.
The Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) accused him of moving money from the multimillion-dollar sale out of the company’s official accounts, which they say cheated 960 Music Group out of its share.
The case of Commissioner of police vs. Aristokrat Records Nigeria Limited & Anor (Charge No. FHC/L/1087/2025) was set for the defendant’s arraignment before Judge Kakaki.
When court resumed, neither the prosecuting attorney nor representatives of Aristokrat Records and their legal team were present. The prosecutor was busy with another case at the Court of Appeal in Jos, Plateau State.
Someone asked the court for permission to speak about the prosecutor’s absence. The judge refused, saying the prosecution’s office should have sent another lawyer to handle the case instead of leaving it unresolved.
The court was clearly unhappy with how the police managed the case. The judge pointed out that although two different lawyers represented the prosecution at different times, the charge was never formally filed against the defendant before the case was dismissed.
The defendant did not attend earlier court dates, so the judge allowed another way to deliver the notice to make sure the defendant was informed. Because there was no valid reason to ignore this order or to delay the case, the court dismissed the charge for lack of prosecution effort.
The case was first heard in December 2025, then postponed to February 10, 2026, and later to April 20, 2026. On each of these dates, neither the defendant nor his lawyers attended.
Prosecutors still have the option to refile or restart the case once the proper steps for service of notice and arraignment are completed.
The civil case, 960 Music Ltd v. Aristokrat Records Nigeria Limited & Ors (FHC/PH/CS/188/2024), is still ongoing at the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. 960 Music wants the court to cancel the catalogue sale and get the money back. The next hearing is coming up soon.
