An entertainment lawyer [/b]named Raphael Irenen has weighed in on the controversy surrounding viral police officer Helen Utabor, asserting that she is not entitled to any earnings from the Afrobeats sensation Asake.
Utabor gained fame when a video of her crying for help after a driver zoomed off with her in 2022 went viral. Comedian I Go Save later claimed that she was injured while directing traffic in Edo and solicited assistance on her behalf.
The saga took an unexpected turn when it was revealed that Asake had given her N5 million for medical care following the incident.
Debates ensued, with some arguing that Asake should have provided royalties to the police officer for lending her voice to his song “Peace be unto you.” However, Irenen, during his appearance on Arise TV’s Good Morning Show, pointed out that the Nigerian Copyright Act specifies six categories of works eligible for copyright, including writing, painting, music, broadcasting, sound recording, and audiovisual activities.
Addressing the question of whether Asake owes Utaboh royalties, Irenen straightforwardly stated, “Looking at the provisions of the law, the simple answer is No.”
[/p]He elaborated, “Copyright in an audio-visual work goes to the author. Copyright generally under the Nigeria Copyright Act goes to the author. That is Section 28 of the Nigeria Copyright Act.
“The video itself comprises the woman’s voice. It is quite reasonable to expect that people would advocate that she be compensated. But it doesn’t work that way.”
“The video was a spontaneous activity. If there was an agreement that stated the lady (Utaboh) would be entitled to something, royalties or she has certain ownership over the said video, that would have been different. But there was no agreement to that effect. The young man took out his phone and started recording.”
Irenen emphasized, “If you remove the lady’s voice, you make it a stand-alone item. Asake only used her voice alone. He did not use the video.”
[/p]In a tweet via his account, Irenen clarified; “She is not entitled to any royalty accruing from the song. Though her voice was used/sampled in the record, she is not the owner of the video, from which her voice was expunged and used for the said song. Recall that a video was made where she was seen shouting ‘Epp me.’”
