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D’banj Was First Nigerian Artist To Gain Global Popularity – Davido

Afrobeats star, Davido has claimed that his senior colleague, D’banj was the first Nigerian musician to achieve international stardom.

According to him, Nigerian artists were not getting international bookings before the global success of D’banj’s 2012 hit single ‘Oliver Twist’.

Speaking in a recent interview with Apple Music, Davido said D’banj’s international success inspired a paradigm shift which led to African music gaining traction in the Western world.

He said, “D’banj was my first vision of a Nigerian artist taking over the world. No one in America was booking Nigerian artists for shows but that changed when I saw Kanye West in D’banj’s ‘Oliver Twist’ video on YouTube.

“It was because of the success of ‘Oliver Twist’ that Americans started booking D’banj, 2Face, P-Square and other African artists for shows. They were making about $1,000,000 per show. So I decided to switch and start doing African music because that’s where I am from.”

While D’banj contributed to the globalisation of African music, especially Afrobeats in the early days of its exportation, many observers disagree with Davido’s claims that he was the first Nigerian musician to achieve international stardom.

Nigerian music legends such as Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, King Sunny Ade, Majek Fashek and hosts of others were popular on the international stage in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s.

2Baba, formerly known as 2Face’s hit song ‘African Queen’ had won several international awards and was used as a soundtrack of the popular American romantic comedy ‘Phat Girlz’ (2006), years before D’banj’s ‘Oliver Twist’ was released.

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ICPC, Police Clear D’banj of N-Power Fraud, R3pe

Nigerian singer, Dapo Oyebanjo aka D’banji, has been exonerated from allegations of r3pe and N-power fraud.
Punch reported that he was cleared by the Nigeria Police Force and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.

In separate documents obtained by Punch on Friday, the police and the anti-graft agency gave the artiste a clean slate in separate clearance reports upon completion of investigations.
In an affidavit deposed by Toheeb Lawal of Abuja-based law firm, Law Corridor, before the District Court of Abuja, wherein the reports of the Nigeria Police Force Investigation and clearance from the ICPC were marked exhibits A and B, the legal practitioner averred that the police and the ICPC cleared the singer of r3pe and fraud allegations.
The PUNCH reports that in 2020, the singer was accused of r3pe, and the Inspector General of Police ordered an investigation into the allegation.
In a report dated November 14, 2023, with case number CR:3000/X/FHQ/ABJ/SEB/T.1/VOL 18/284 and signed by ACP YY Abubakar of the Special Enquiry Bureau at the Force Criminal Investigations Department at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, the police said the matter was investigated but there was no evidence to substantiate the claim.
“The allegation was investigated,” the police report read in part.
It added, “The complainant, witnesses, and suspects made their statement. The investigation was extended to the Glee Hotel Lagos, where the staff on duty on the date of the alleged incident made their statement.
 
“The management and staff of the Glee Hotel averred that the first suspect was not seen in the hotel on the date of the alleged incident, nor was he given a spare key to gain access to any room in the hotel where the complainant lodged, and they have only one key to each room, which completely debunked the allegation of the complainant.

 
“The management of the hotel also held that it had no record to show that the complainant checked into the hotel as a guest on the alleged date, and she did not, at any time, raise an alarm, complain, or report any indecent assault or r3pe.
 
“There is no medical report on the victim to ascertain that she was r3ped. There are no adduced facts or corroborative evidence to substantiate the allegation of r3pe against the suspect. Prima facie offences of indecent assault, r3pe, and intimidation are not made out.
 
“However, the complainant, through her counsel, Ojoge, Omileye & Partners, submitted a later, dated July 17, 2020, to the DIG Force CID, to voluntarily withdraw the petition and discontinue the investigation.”
Also,  in 2022, the ICPC accused D’banj of diverting funds associated with the N-Power Programme of the Federal Government.
However, after its investigation, the ICPC said that D’banj was not guilty of any fraud allegation.
In response to an inquiry, the commission cleared D’banj of any infraction on the matter.
The clarification was dated November 29, 2023, with document number ICPC/OPS/SDD/SPT.LG/31/23.
“The commission investigated issues of fraud in the administration of the N-POWER Scheme, where Mr Daniel Oladapo Oyebanjo’s name came up. However, there was no prima facie case of fraud against him.
 
“Kindly be advised that Mr Daniel Oladapo Oyebanjo is not under investigation with the Commission for any fraud-related offence,” the ICPC clearance partly read.
D’banj’s lawyer, in his deposition filed before the Chief District Court of the Federal Capital Territory at Wuse Zone 2, Abuja, also averred that the singer was never a government official and never had any access to government funds and that the N-power campaign he supported was free and was never paid a penny by anyone or the government.
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D’banj reacts to sponsoring attack on Seun Kuti

D’Banj, a Nigerian musician, denied online rumors that he sponsored the attack on his colleague Seun Kuti during his feud with Peter Okoye over Peter Obi.

Seun Kuti

During the clash between Peter Okoye and Seun Kuti over a comment made again the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, a post purportedly written by D’banj insulting Seun surfaced online.

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In the post, that went viral on social media, it was seen that an account with D’banj’s name said the son of the late Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Seun has a low IQ due to substance abuse and should focus more on music than ranting on social media without offering any solution to Nigeria’s problems.

However, the musician has come out to debunk the post that went viral. In a statement via his lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi, the artist laid a disclaimer on the viral post.

The statement read: “This is to notify the general public that Mr. Oladapo Daniel (D’Banj) never made nor could make any derogatory or disparaging statement against anybody, especially within the entertainment industry, nor has he directed the publication of any such material on his behalf. Never!

The general public is thus advised to disregard the mischief of a publication maliciously pushed to drive traffic to gossip blogs and stoke non-existent conflict between Oladapo Daniel (D’Banj) and his well-regarded colleagues in the industry.

“For the records, D’banj authored no statement against his friend and brother Seun Kuti, and he is as perplexed as the general public by the publication falsely attributed to him.

“Dbanj’s view is that in the entertainment industry, they are all one big family and that though political ideologies may differ and could be expressed in heated ways, he holds that the irrefutable truth is that elections will come and go and they all will and must remain one big family”