Abuja, May 2, 2025 — A fresh legal battle has erupted in Nigeria’s competitive beverage market as Rite Foods Ltd, makers of Fearless Energy Drinks, has filed a N1.6 billion lawsuit against Mamuda Beverages Nigeria Ltd, the producer of Pop Power Energy Drinks, over alleged trademark and design infringement.
The suit, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on April 14, is being spearheaded by a legal team comprising Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Oyetola Oshobi and Boonyameen Lawal. In the writ of summons marked FHC/ABJ/CS/705/2025, Rite Foods is asking for ten reliefs, including a perpetual injunction to bar Mamuda from producing any drink bearing similar resemblance to Fearless Energy.
Rite Foods contends that Mamuda’s Pop Power Energy Drink mimics the distinctive bottle design, colours, and visual identity of its registered Fearless brand, including the use of a lion head emblem. While Fearless is sold in 500ml bottles, the alleged imitation appears in 330ml bottles, but Rite Foods claims the resemblance has led to consumer confusion, with some retailers reportedly referring to the product as “small Fearless.”
The company is demanding general damages of N1 billion, the cost of litigation amounting to N60 million, and the destruction of all infringing Pop Power products in Mamuda’s possession.
According to court documents, Rite Foods had earlier obtained injunctive reliefs in a separate suit (FHC/ABJ/CS/139/2025) before Justice Inyang Ekwo. In that case, an interim court order was issued on January 31 to halt production and distribution of the disputed product. Negotiations that followed led to a consent judgment on March 4, where Mamuda agreed to modify certain design elements of the product, including the bottle cap, label colours, and branding language.
However, Rite Foods alleges that despite the agreement, Mamuda resumed production shortly after with only slight adjustments, prompting the new legal action.
Rite Foods, incorporated in 2007, is known for popular products such as Bigi Drinks, Fearless Energy Drinks, and Sosa Fruit Drinks. The company claims it introduced the first 500ml plastic energy drink bottle in Nigeria, registered as an industrial design in August 2020.
No response has yet been issued by Mamuda Beverages regarding the fresh allegations.
The matter is now before Justice Emeka Nwite, and a hearing date is expected to be scheduled in the coming weeks.
