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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
John Dunne

Nigerian music star Davido to sue over April fool's prank that backfired

Nigerian Afrobeats star Davido has said he is taking legal action over an April Fool's joke suggesting he had been arrested in possession of cocaine on his private jet.

The star, 31, who has just finished an East African tour, said the fake report was "extremely irresponsible".

In a statement on X he wrote: "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.”

The April Fool's story, first published by Kenya's K24 TV on Monday, went viral on social media.

Davido, who had just performed to packed audiences at the Timeless Concert in Kampala and Raha Fest in Nairobi, said the fake story created a media storm.

Kenya's Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) tweeted a screengrab of the headline with "Fake News" stamped across it on Monday.

Davido added: "I want to assure my fans that these reports are entirely untrue. I successfully completed my scheduled shows in Uganda and Kenya and have since returned home to Nigeria.

"I find the fabrication of allegations of such international crimes extremely irresponsible regardless of the light of 'April Fools', and my lawyer is seeking legal recourse against the media parties responsible for generating this misinformation."

In 2019 he played a sold-out show at London's O2 Arena, becoming the first solo African artist to do so after Wizkid the year before.

K24 TV is yet to respond to Davido’s legal threat against the channel nd has been contacted for comment.

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