By Patricia Mollyne Mataga
A local mainstream media might soon find itself facing a huge defamation case.
This is after a popular Nigerian singer hinted at taking legal action against the media house for publishing a fake news item.
The media house had on Monday, April Fools Day, published a story claiming the singer had been detained after Cocaine was found in his private jet.
While the story was merely meant for the April Fools Day, the media house was forced to pull it down minutes after it was published.
But their decision to pick the billionaire singer as a person of interest on April 1 might come back to haunt him.
In a statement posted on his social media pages on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, Davido termed the reports as irresponsible.
He went further to insist that he has never been arrested, be it within his country or any other.
“Fans, it has come to my attention that false reports regarding my arrest circulated online on April 1 which has since led to a barrage of calls. I want to assure my fans that these reports are entirely untrue,” the ‘Unavailable’ hitmaker said in part of the statement.
Reports of his arrest came at the time he had just finished his visit to Kenya and Tanzania, with many of his fans worried it might have been true, albeit being April Fools Day.
“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 have made home throughout my career,” the singer added.
He further noted that he had instructed his lawyers to take action against all media houses and individuals that might have published the said malicious story.
“I find the fabrication of the allegations of such international crimes extremely irresponsible regardless of the light of April Fools Day and my lawyer is seeking legal recourse against the media parties responsible for generating this misinformation,” Davido said.
Defamation cases usually have huge financial implications should an aggrieved party successfully argue their case before a court of law.
