‘I Have 14 Grandchildren’: Davido’s Father Speaks on Paternity Controversy
Dr. Deji Adeleke, father of Afrobeats star David “Davido” Adeleke, has addressed the long-standing controversy surrounding claims that his son fathered a teenage girl, insisting that multiple DNA tests have conclusively shown the child is not Davido’s.
Speaking during a press briefing that went viral on Wednesday, the billionaire businessman said the Adeleke family thoroughly investigated the allegation and would have accepted the child without hesitation if paternity had been established.
The controversy centres on Ayo Labinjo, an Ibadan-based woman who alleged she had a relationship with Davido during one of his early career visits to the city, resulting in the birth of a baby girl, Anu. She claimed the singer abandoned the child. The matter resurfaced recently after a social media account believed to belong to the girl appealed to Davido to undergo another DNA test.
Davido had responded last week, stating that several DNA tests had already been conducted and that the results confirmed the girl was not his daughter. He spoke out after an open letter, allegedly written by the 12-year-old, circulated on social media, claiming she was being bullied in school over her paternity.
At the briefing, Dr. Adeleke said the family never intended to deny any child and would have welcomed Anu if the tests had proven Davido was the father.
Introducing himself, he said Davido is the youngest of his five children and explained that the allegation first came to his attention in 2014 when he received a package from Ibadan containing photographs of Davido and the child, a birth certificate listing “Adeleke David” as the father, and a letter from the child’s grandmother requesting a paternity test.
According to him, the grandmother stated clearly that she was not seeking marriage or financial benefits but only wanted the truth about the child’s paternity.
Dr. Adeleke said he immediately contacted the family and personally arranged a DNA test at a Lagos-based hospital, with samples sent to South Africa for analysis. He explained that saliva samples were taken from Davido and the child in the presence of all parties, with both himself and the grandmother designated to receive the results.
“The result stated clearly that the probability of paternity was zero per cent,” he said, adding that the laboratory confirmed Davido was not the child’s biological father.
He disclosed that despite the initial outcome, the family agreed to conduct additional DNA tests at other reputable centres to eliminate any doubt, all of which produced the same result.
Addressing demands for the DNA reports to be made public, Dr. Adeleke declined, citing security and legal risks associated with releasing DNA profiles.
He stressed that the family had no motive to deny a child, noting that he already has 14 grandchildren.
“What is one more?” he asked. “If the child were his, we would have accepted her. But science is clear.”
