Why Some Funke Akindele Songs Have Been Removed from Streaming Platforms

Nigerian actress Funke Akindele flexed her musical chops when we all saw her on the now iconic “Askamaya Anthem” song alongside other Nollywood stars Chioma Akpotha, Eniola Badmus, and Bimbo Thomas.

That song was for the “Omo Ghetto: The Saga” soundtrack which was a major hit, and so Funke Akindele took the music further with her television show She Must Be Obeyed where she played the character of a musician. Of course, because the show is based around music and the music industry, there had to be original music for the show. But that music has today gotten Funke Akindele and her ex-husband JJC Skillz into a lawsuit, and the songs have now been removed from all streaming platforms. Here’s everything you missed.

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What Happened?

If today, you want to play any of the songs from the She Must Be Obeyed soundtrack, you will notice that they are nowhere to be found on any streaming platforms. Why? Well, because according to Ewa Cole, the alleged composer of the songs, Funke Akindele and her creative team, allegedly used the music she composed for the show without permission.

According to the story told by Ewa Cole’s legal representative Williams Esq., music producer Topage acting on behalf of Akindele’s production company, approached Ewa Cole to compose and perform songs for the She Must Be Obeyed soundtrack. However, upon completing the project, Topage informed Ewa Cole that her songs had been rejected. So Ewa proceeded to initiate the copyright registration process of the songs.

Months after, the series premiered along with the soundtrack, and the songs composed by Ewa Cole were allegedly featured prominently, without permission or credit, allegedly reproduced by singers Waje and Veeiye who also star in the show.

When the news of the lawsuit first came out, people accused Ewa and her legal team for wanting to cash in after Funke Akindele’s record-breaking billion naira movie happened, but now they’re firing back. According to Williams:

ADEWALE WILLIAMS ESQ.: Before resorting to legal action, we made concerted efforts to resolve this amicably. We wrote to her and all the parties involved, to ensure they are fully aware of the details of the matter and to draw their attention to it, hoping for an agreeable solution. But that wasn’t forthcoming, so we had to go to court. When you look at the letter of demand and notice to litigate attached to the process, you will discover that the letter was written sometime in November last year. It is expected that within that period of time, we should have gotten at least reasonable feedback from all the parties involved

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That’s All.

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