Afrobeats star Davido taking legal action over ‘extremely irresponsible’ April Fools article

Nigerian Afrobeats star Davido has said he is taking legal action over an April Fools article that falsely claimed he was arrested for drug offences.

The 31-year-old singer – born David Adedeji Adeleke – shared a statement from his social media accounts, including his Instagram where has has 29 million followers, addressing the viral story that seemed to originate from Kenyan media outlet K24 TV.

The account claimed that the three-time Grammy Award nominee was detained after cocaine was found on board his private jet.

Screenshots of the original post, which appears to have been deleted, purportedly show that the story received around 341,000 views before it was removed.

Davido, who is regarded as one of the world’s most influential Afrobeats artists alongside Burna Boy and Wizkid, had just performed to audiences at his “Timeless” concert in Kampala and Raha Fest in Nairobi.

He said the story containing the “completely untrue” claims of his arrest had led to him receiving “a barrage of calls”, as multiple accounts on X/Twitter reshared the false report.

Meanwhile, Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations shared a screengrab of the headline with “Fake News” stamped across it mid-morning on Monday (1 April).

“I find the fabrication of allegations such as international crimes extremely irresponsible regardless of the light of ‘April Fools’,” Davido wrote in his statement.

“I successfully completed my scheduled shows in Uganda and Kenya and have since returned home to Nigeria,” he said.

“I’d also like to note that I have never been arrested by anyone in any country for any crime in the world. Not my home Nigeria, my home America, or any of the hundreds of countries I’ve made home throughout my career.”

Davido said that his lawyer is seeking “legal recourse” against “the media parties responsible for generating this information”.

“Thank you for your continued support,” he concluded.

The Independent has contacted K24 TV and Davido’s representatives for comment.

Davido released his latest album, Timeless, in March 2023, featuring collaborations with British grime artist Skepta, Nigerian singer Asake, and Beninese-French singer Angélique Kidjo.

The album debuted at No 37 on the Billboard 200 charts and No 10 in the UK.