Dr. Adedeji Adeleke, father of Afrobeats star Davido, has broken his silence on the resurfaced DNA controversy involving a young girl identified as Anu, accusing journalist Kemi Olunloyo of impersonating a minor, spreading false claims and illegally controlling social media accounts, while warning that the family is considering legal action.
Speaking at a press briefing in Lagos on Wednesday, Dr. Adeleke explained what happened, who is involved, where the matter stands and why the family decided to respond publicly. He said the recent social media posts pushing the paternity narrative did not come from the child or her mother, but were allegedly orchestrated by Olunloyo using fake accounts created in their names.
“The fact that all you see on the social media, it’s not this girl writing it, it’s not the mother of the girl writing it, it’s Kemi Olunloyo. The woman is crazy, what she’s doing is even illegal, because you’re impersonating a minor. She’s the one that established the account for the little girl, established the account for the mother of the girl and then using this account, anytime she wants to start trouble,” he said.
Dr. Adeleke alleged that Olunloyo had been exploiting the situation financially, prompting the child’s family to cut ties with her. “From what the family told me, from what the girl told me, she was using the family, using the little girl to make money. That’s why they stopped talking to her. She’s the one that controls those accounts. It’s not legal,” he added.
He also rejected claims that Olunloyo had a close relationship with Davido’s late mother or played any role in the singer’s birth.
“She claims she was my late wife’s best friend. How can you be my late wife’s best friend and I don’t know you, I never met you. I know those that are my late wife’s best friends… I never met this Kemi Olunloyo before,” Dr. Adeleke said.
Providing context, the businessman narrated the medical emergency surrounding Davido’s delivery, stressing that his wife was flown from London to the United States before giving birth.
“When the plane landed in America, November 21st, 1992, they took her from that airport straight to the hospital. That was the day David was born. They flushed out her blood because she got the wrong blood and the doctor said we are lucky that if I had not asked her to leave, the child would have died. She would have died too,” he said, questioning how Olunloyo could claim she drove his wife to the hospital.
“So how can this crazy Kemi Olunloyo be telling people that she’s the one that drove my wife to the hospital to have David? The woman is a lunatic and it’s because of her I’m doing this press conference. Otherwise I don’t like to talk to the press. I just like to live my life quietly. But enough is enough,” he added.
On the DNA issue, Dr. Adeleke insisted that repeated tests had already proven Davido is not the biological father of the child, and criticised public pressure on the singer.
“People say that God will punish David for leaving this child. What do you want David to do, accept a child that is not his own?” he asked.
Despite the outcome, he said the family continued to support the child out of goodwill. “If I can be paying the girl’s school fees, sending her money, knowing fully we’re she’s not my grandchild… I still pay her ₦50,000 every month for upkeep. I would have been so glad this girl was my granddaughter so I can spoil her silly like the other ones,” he said.
Dr. Adeleke also disclosed that he offered educational support to both the child and her mother at Adeleke University in Ede. “I even offered that the little girl Anu can go to Adeleke University High School boarding school while the mom goes back to Adeleke University to complete her degree, so that both of them will be in the same Ede,” he said.
Addressing possible legal steps, Dr. Adeleke said the family may no longer ignore what he described as impersonation and lies.
“With the way she’s going about this, lying and lying and then using an account that does not belong to her, using a child’s name to impersonate a child and the mother of the child… we are going to consider suing her,” he stated.
He stressed that petitions and online campaigns would not override science. “Somebody that has done paternity test severally and see he is not the father of the child… she’s lying. She’s crazy,” he said.
The renewed controversy follows Davido’s recent response to another call for DNA testing, where the singer said he had already undergone several tests over the years, all returning negative results. Dr. Adeleke maintained that if evidence had shown Davido was the father, the family would have accepted the child without hesitation.
As the debate continues online, the Adeleke family says its priority is protecting its name, the welfare of the child involved, and putting an end to what it describes as misinformation, impersonation and exploitation.
Ademide Adebayo
About the Author
