Davido to sue after “irresponsible” April Fool’s joke backfires
Davido is taking legal action over a false news report on April Fool’s Day, which he has deemed “extremely irresponsible”.
The Afrobeats artist shared a statement on X/Twitter yesterday (April 2), notifying his followers of a prank story that alleged he had been arrested in Kenya after cocaine was found on his private jet (via BBC News).
“Fam, it has come to my attention that false reports regarding an arrest circulated online on April 1st, which has since led to a barrage of calls. I want to assure my fans that these reports are entirely untrue,” Davido began.
“I successfully completed my scheduled shows in Uganda and Kenya and have since returned home to Nigeria.”
He continued: “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 (@davido) April 2, 2024
#FakeNews pic.twitter.com/6qNJzLil47
— DCI KENYA (@DCI_Kenya) April 1, 2024
Davido went on to say that he found “the fabrication of allegations of such international crimes extremely irresponsible regardless of the light of ‘April Fools'”.
He then confirmed that his lawyer was “seeking legal recourse against the media parties responsible for generating this misinformation”.
The singer-songwriter/producer concluded: “Thank you for your continued support. Our blessings are from God. I love you all. Sincerely, Davido.” You can see the statement in the post above.
The fake story was reportedly first published by Kenya outlet K24 TV on Monday (April 1), with it subsequently going viral on social media.
Kenya’s Directorate Of Criminal Investigations (DCI) later shared a screenshot of the article, which featured the headline ‘Davido detained at JKIA after Ksh18M cocaine haul found in his private jet’. The DCI branded the story “fake news”.
K24 TV has not responded to Davido’s statement at the time of writing.
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Tom Skinner
NME