My people, e be like say wahala don burst for Kwara State as Federal High Court wey dey Ilorin don dismiss preliminary objection wey Kwara State Government file for matter wey concern designer Winjobi Abdulafeez.
Dis ruling go allow dem carry on with di main case wey dey talk about how dem take use di Palm Academy logo without permission. Justice Olu Ariwoola (Jnr) say make dem continue inside di substantive hearing after e rule in favour of di designer on December 3, 2025. Dis matter wey dem dey call FHC/IL/CS/12/2025 don dey since 2024 and e dey hot as it concern public health campaign wey involve Kwara State Ministry of Health.
Winjobi Abdulafeez, wey design di logo and post am for Behance.net back in 2021, don raise dust as e claim say di Ministry no get any right to use im work without am collecting any clearance. Na for July 22, 2024, wahala burst after di ministry post di rebranded materials for social media wey show di logo. Di guy send letter to dem on July 29, 2024, ask dem to withdraw all materials and demand money for di damages.
Even though di Ministry and di attorney general say dem receive di letter, dem no take any steps to correct di issue. Di preliminary objection wey di state file na say di Federal High Court no fit handle di matter; dem talk say make Abdulafeez first go register di trademark. But im lawyer tell dem say na copyright law e dey base di case, not trademark registration, so di court get jurisdiction for di matter.
As di judge deliver im judgement, e make am clear say di logo fit get protection as both trademark and artistic work, but di law wey di state rely on na for registration issues, not infringement. Na dis copyright issue wey di Federal High Court get full power to handle under Section 251(1)(f) of di 1999 Constitution.
So, di court don clear di way for di main case to proceed. Abdulafeez dey seek make di court confirm say na him be di real owner of di logo, plus make dem stop any unauthorized use, and e dey demand N100 million for damages wey e don suffer because of di matter.
Im lawyer, Kunle Gbade, dey hail di ruling as big win for intellectual property rights for Naija. Im talk say dis judgment show say creative works no fit just dey chop by public institutions without proper permission.
So my people, we go dey watch as di substantive hearing go unfold and see how dis legal drama go play out, including di damages wey fit follow dem unauthorised use!
Do you have a news tip for NNN? Please email us at editor @ nnn.ng
