The dispute between the self-affirmed President of Musicians Employers Association of Nigeria (PMAN), Pretty Okafor and the Chairman of the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), Chief Tony Okoroji has come to an end.
A Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja, on Thursday, restrained Okafor from further defaming Chief Okoroji.
While delivering the judgement in a libel action filed on May 22, 2018 by the COSON chairman, Justice A. A Oyebanji ordered Okafor to pay Chief Okoroji the sum of ₦2 million in damages for defamation of character.
“Every person has a right to the protection of his good name,” the judge added.
Back at the COSON house, while basking in the excitement of his court victory, Okoroji recalled how the accused continually disseminated libelous information about him without recourse.
“Month after month, Pretty Okafor vomited atrocious falsehood on the internet and on TV to decimate my good name and destroy my reputation. Even when I went to court against him, he did not stop. He did not caution himself. At some point, it appeared like destroying Tony Okoroji’s name and legacy had become an obsession with him. It became Pretty Okafor’s fulltime job. Not once did I ever respond to him, hoping that he would understand the saying: Silence is the best answer for a fool,” Okoroji said.
He explained that the problems begun when the COSON House was commissioned in Ikeja in 2017. He said that “they want to hijack COSON which we built for the good of the thousands in the music industry and turn it into their personal ATM and destroy it the same way they destroyed PMAN which I also helped to build. The tragic thing is that Pretty Okafor is not even a member of COSON.”
Okoroji however said the victory is a testament to his promise to fight anyone or group planning to hijack COSON, which was built to protect and promote everyone involved in music in Nigeria.
