An Accra High court has granted an order for substituted service to be served on Ghanaian artiste, Medikal.
Medikal has been sued by the Gospel group Alabaster Box for copyright infringement, the group is demanding GHS 15 million in damages.
According to lawyers for Alabaster Box, the substituted service has become necessary after unsuccessful attempts to personally serve Medikal with the writ of summons.
The court’s order sighted by 3News and dated June 12, 2025 allows for the substituted service to be carried out via Medikal’s social media handles – Facebook, Instagram and X, and also through his Manager’s WhatsApp line and on the court’s notice board.
i) By pasting a copy of the Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim on the High Court Notice Board, Law Court Complex in Accra.
ii) By serving copies of the Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim on Defendant through his verified social media handles on Facebook, Instagram and X namely; Medikal, amgmedikal and Medikalbyk respectively.
iii) By serving a copy through the defendant’s Manager, Kofi Jam on his registered WhatsApp number
Alabaster Box in its writ of summons alleged that Medikal’s song, “Welcome to Africa,” unlawfully sampled their copyrighted song “Akwaaba.”
The group claims that the first ten seconds of Medikal’s song are a derivative work of their original composition.
The group emphasizes that they have invested significantly in promoting their music and own the exclusive copyright to “Akwaaba” in Ghana and the United Kingdom.
The lawsuit highlights that Medikal’s song contains “expressive profanity, vulgarity and unprintable words,” which Alabaster Box argues has tarnished their brand.
Alabaster Box is seeking GHS 10 million for copyright infringement and an additional GHS 5 million in exemplary damages “for Defendant’s intentional infringement of the Plaintiff’s copyright, brand association with vulgarity and for diminishing the good mileage of the copyright work.”
The group is also asking the court to order Medikal to account for all revenues from his song and to withdraw it from all digital platforms.
