D’banj slams N1.5 billion lawsuit on Seyitan over rape allegation

Nigerian artist Oladapo Oyebanjo known as D’banj has slammed a N1.5 billion lawsuit against Seyitan Babatayo who accused him of rape.

D’banj through his lawyer Mike Ozekhome also asked Seyitan to desist posting offensive posts and tweets about the alleged rape incident against the Afro-pop artiste.

Ozekhome is demanding that “the sum of N1,000,000,000.00 (One Billion Million Naim) only” be paid to D’banj which represents “general, damages over the untold embarrassment, derision, public ridicule, odium, obloquy, marital disharmony, mental agony and psychological trauma which the Defendant’s tweets and publications have caused the Claimant.”

Another N500 million was requested by Dbanj’s lawyer for “representing aggravated, punitive and exemplary damages” in the allegation against the singer.

Prior to the lawsuit, D’banj’s lawyer had demanded that Seyitan pays the sum of N100m within 48 hours or risk legal action after the rape allegation became public in June.

He also demanded that she write a letter of apology and retract her statements which would be published in four national dailies.

The demands were, however, not met.

Babatayo last month said D’banj raped in 2018 in Lagos.

She said it happened after an all-white party where Dbanj allegedly offered her friend some money to spend the night which she rejected until the Oliver Twist crooner surprisingly showed up in Seyitan’s hotel room around 2:00 am at midnight.

“D’banj drove all the way from Eko Hotels where he was lodged and came down to glee hotel in Victoria island at midnight 2:40 am and collected the spare key from the receptionist,” Babatayo’s friend Ese said in the thread which has since sparked an outrage.

She said D’banj allegedly “got into my friend’s room and forcefully threatened he would walk her out of the room naked, Kept his fingers in her Vagina and repeatedly raped her.”

D’banj denied the allegation, saying it was ‘lies from the pit of hell’ to tarnish his reputation, marriage and his 40-years birthday he planned in June.

Babatayo was reportedly arrested by the police on D’banj’s instruction who she claimed made her phone taken from her, denying her the chance to talk to her lawyer.

Her lawyer, Olamide Omileye of Ojoge, Omileye, and Partners, told Premium Times that she was forced to delete her tweets on the rape allegations while in police custody.

But Seyitan later tweeted that she and her mother were never arrested by the police.

“I’m moving on and leaving everything behind me,” she said in one of the tweets she posted to her handle on Wednesday evening. Those tweets, Omileye said, were posted under duress.

But spokesman to the Lagos State Police Command told our correspondent that he is not aware of Seyitan’s arrest.

“There is no such arrest in my command,” spokesman to Lagos Police Command Bala Elkana told our correspondent in June. “I am not aware of that.”

A police source told Vanguard that Seyitan was arrested after turning down multiple invitations by investigators.

D’banj and Seyitan according to the Vanguard report were invited to the FCID, Abuja to give written statements and for interrogation.

The report said while D’Banj has reported on three separate occasions at FCID for interrogation and statement, the accuser, Seyitan constantly refused to show up.

“Her non-appearance is what prompted the Force CID to dispatch officers to Lagos to invite Seyitan for her written statement and interrogation on the alleged rape,” a police source told the paper.

“The police source said that having made the allegation, it was necessary for her to come forward to give a statement to back up her accusation which she has not done hence detectives were sent to Lagos to get her statement.”