Davido, through his lawyer in the Preliminary Objection filed before the court and obtained by SaharaReporters, said the firm, owned by Amaju Pinnick, which is the claimant “has not written a formal letter of demand to the Defendants for the refund of the alleged sum which has now become a debt before rushing to court.”

Nigerian singer, David Adeleke, more commonly called Davido, has asked a Delta State High Court sitting in Effurun to strike out a case brought by Brownhill Investments Company Limited, the organisers of the annual “Warri Again Concert.”

Davido, through his lawyer in the Preliminary Objection filed before the court and obtained by SaharaReporters, said the firm, owned by Amaju Pinnick, which is the claimant “has not written a formal letter of demand to the Defendants for the refund of the alleged sum which has now become a debt before rushing to court.”

The popular singer’s lawyer, Chukwuebuka Atusiuba, of Saka Jojo, off Idejo Street Victoria Island, Lagos State, added that the court therefore lacked jurisdiction to entertain the case and it should be struck out.

SaharaReporters on Wednesday reported that the firm, Brownhill Investments Company Limited, told the court that Davido earlier in the year met its chairman, Amaju Pinnick, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, where he (Davido) specially requested to perform at the mega event.

According to the court documents obtained by SaharaReporters on the ongoing matter, the company said its chairman was “hesitant” to grant Davido, the contract, having disappointed them on two previous occasions.

The company had further told the court that the singer signed all the agreement papers after insisting that the monies must be paid in full and the Performance agreement was sealed and dated March 30, 2023.

The company had said the singer rather went to another event slated for the same date at “Lux Nightclub, Melbourne, 373 Chapel St. South Yarra, Australia.”

SaharaReporters had on November 1 reported that the claimant, represented by Kelechi Onwuegbuchulem, is demanding that the court gives Davido and his music company, Davido Music Worldwide Limited, N2billion in general damages.

Meanwhile in the notice of preliminary objection filed by Davido’s team of lawyers, the singer stated that “It is therefore contended that the present action is not competent as the Honourable Court does not have the requisite jurisdiction to grant Reliefs III and IV of the Claimant’s writ of summons. Hence, the present action is premature and incompetent.”

The lawyers said, “The instant application is brought pursuant to Order 39 of the High Court Of Deltal State (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2009; Section 6(6) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended) and Under the Inherent Jurisdiction of this Honourable Court.

“The Defendants/Applicants are praying this Honourable Court for the following reliefs: 1. AN ORDER of this Honourable Court striking out the Claimant’s suit for want of jurisdiction.

“2. AND FOR SUCH FURTHER ORDER OR ORDERS as this Honourable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstance a. That the Claimant/Respondent filed this suit praying to the court in its reliefs III and IV for a refund of the sums of $94,500.00 and $18.000.000 respectively.

“b. The Claimant’s Reliefs III and IV of the Writ of Summons are in the nature of debt recovery and the condition precedent required to trigger the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court has not been complied with.

“c. The Claimant has not written a formal letter of demand to the Defendants for the refund of the alleged sum which has now become a debtbefore rushing to court which has robbed the court of jurisdiction until the condition precedent is fully satisfied.

“d. In consequence of ground (c), the present action is Incompetent as the Honourable Court does not have the requisite jurisdiction and the suit ought to be struck out.

“The present action is premature and incompetent as the said Reliefs III and IV are the fulcrum and gamut of the Claimant’s entire action and are what give life to other reliefs 1. The Court lacks jurisdiction to entertain this present suit.”