This archive report was first published on 20 June 2020.
On June 20, 2020, a disturbing rape allegation surfaced against Nigerian high-profile musician D'banj.
A woman identified as Seyitan Babatayo alleged that in 2018, she was raped by D'banj in a hotel on Victoria Island, Lagos.
According to local media, after the allegation came to light, Ms. Babatayo was arrested by police and released on bail.
Her lawyers expressed surprise at the arrest and have lodged a formal complaint.
Further allegations against D'banj include holding Ms. Babatayo hostage and forcing her to delete tweets accusing him of rape, as well as seizing her phone to tweet that she wasn't picked up by the police.
D'banj has denied the allegations and demanded compensation and an apology from his accuser.
Following the allegations, a Nigerian citizen launched a petition on Change.org calling for D'banj to be stripped of his Youth Ambassador status.
Over 11,000 people have signed the petition, and protests have taken place across Nigeria in recent weeks in response to high-profile rape allegations.
