Nigeria, Feb. 23 -- The Federal High Court in Lagos has barred the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and 20 commercial banks from from touching, releasing or transferring copyright levy funds received by the Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria (MCSN) in connection to sound recordings.

Judge Ambrose Lewis-Allago, granted the interim Mareva injunction on 9 February, halting the dissipation or disbursement of the copyright levy funds. PREMIUM TIMES saw a certified true copy of the order on Sunday.

While ordering MCSN to preserve the funds "intact", the judge alsl ordered the society to render accounts of the copyright levy fund linked to sound recording.

The ruling followed an application by the Record Label Proprietors' Initiative (RELPI) a...