‘Defamation’: Davido drags popular Nigerian singer to court

Popular musician, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has slammed singer Oyindamola Emmanuel, also known as Dammy Krane, with a defamation suit.

The development is coming just few days to Davido and Chioma’s wedding ceremony.

The letter demands a retraction of a viral tweet that labeled Davido a “murderer” and a “cheat.”The tweet mocked Davido’s upcoming wedding and was deemed defamatory and offensive.

Dammy Krane tweeted, “There’s nothing worse than murder #davido You fit get money but you no fit get peace #Karma. Ps: Don’t ever get married because your girl caught you cheating you wan gbe-iya-wo (Carry suffer look) Congratulations Owe B Owe — Big Daddy Krane.”

Davido’s lawyers stated that the ‘Omo baba olowo’ crooner has never been charged or convicted of any offence, including murder.

They demanded that Dammy Krane remove the tweet and cease defaming Davido within 24 hours or face legal action, including damages and injunctive relief.

The letter read, “We are informed by our client that you have repeatedly published statements on your social media platforms that he finds not only defamatory and offensive but which also constitute an act of cyberbullying.

“Our client has further informed us that while in Abuja, he became aware of the latest in your series of defamatory posts, which is your publication of June 21, 2024, on your X (formerly Twitter) page using the handle #dammy_krane, wherein you stated: ‘There’s nothing worse than murder #davido You fit get money but you no fit get peace #Karma. Ps: Don’t ever get married because your girl caught you cheating you wan gbe-iya-wo (Carry suffer look) Congratulations Owe B Owe — Big Daddy Krane.’

“The simple imputation to be drawn from this post is that, amongst other reprehensible things, our client is a murderer.

“Our client vehemently asserts that contrary to the insinuations in your post, he has never been charged with or convicted of any offense, including murder.”

The lawyers emphasised the false nature of the publications. They added, “The malicious nature of your post is also evident from your subsequent post taunting our client and stating that ‘He can’t sue because I speak the truth Oponu,’ when in fact you know your allegations to be false and outlandish.

“The above posts, which you published to your over 342,600 followers on the X platform, have been circulated globally and syndicated by hundreds of blogs across the world.

“Given the status of our client, this post has unsurprisingly gained significant traction globally, and our client is at the time of this letter trending at No. 1 on X Trends for Nigeria, attracting thousands of negative comments and reactions in the process.

“Your conduct in publishing these statements, despite knowing them to be false, is not only malicious but also orchestrated to defame and injure the reputation of our client, a globally recognized music star. Such actions constitute a civil breach as well as an infraction of the relevant criminal laws.

“Therefore, we hereby demand that you: 1. Within 24 hours from the date of this letter, remove and retract the offensive publication from all your social media platforms. 2. Immediately refrain from any further publication of defamatory statements against our client on any platform whatsoever.

“Take Notice that your failure to comply with these demands within the stipulated timeframe will compel our client to pursue all available legal remedies, including but not limited to initiating legal proceedings against you for damages and injunctive relief, and escalating this matter to the relevant law enforcement agencies.”