Nigerian music sensation, Davido, has directed his legal team to take action against an April Fool’s prank that has gone awry.
The hoax, which suggested that the Afrobeats artist was detained in Kenya due to the discovery of cocaine on his private aircraft, has been met with severe backlash.
The 31-year-old artist, who recently concluded a tour in East Africa, labeled the false report as “highly irresponsible”. He clarified on social media, “I have never been apprehended by any law enforcement agency in any country for any crime whatsoever.”
He further stated on X, previously known as Twitter, “Neither in my native Nigeria, nor in America, my second home, or in any of the numerous countries I’ve visited throughout my career, have I ever been arrested.”
The April Fool’s prank, initially published by Kenya’s K24 TV, quickly spread across social media platforms. The Nigerian superstar, who recently performed to sold-out crowds at the Timeless Concert in Kampala and Raha Fest in Nairobi, revealed that the false news led to a flood of phone calls.
The backlash was so severe that Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) posted a screenshot of the headline marked with “Fake News” on Monday morning.
“I want to reassure my fans that these reports are completely false. I successfully completed my scheduled performances in Uganda and Kenya and have since returned to Nigeria,” Davido announced on Tuesday.
He expressed his disappointment over the fabrication of such serious international crime allegations, even in the context of ‘April Fools’, and confirmed that his lawyer is pursuing legal action against the media entities responsible for spreading this misinformation.
K24 TV has yet to respond to Davido’s decision to initiate legal proceedings.
While many Kenyans deemed the prank inappropriate, some have expressed their hopes on social media for a peaceful resolution to the controversy.
