Nigerian artist, Oladapo Oyebanjo, popularly known as D’banj has been cleared of rape after his accuser Seyitan Babatayo withdrew the case citing “personal reasons”.
Babatayo further asked the Police to discontinue its current investigation on the matter.
Recall that last month, Babatayo accused D’banj of rape back 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, however, 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.
D’banj through his lawyer Mike Ozekhome then slammed a N1.5 billion lawsuit on Seyitan, aaking her to desist posting offensive posts and tweets about the alleged rape incident against the Afro-pop artiste.
Ozekhome demanded 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.
Meanwhile, Stand To End Rape (STER), a non-profit organization, which had been in charge of Ms Babatayo’s welfare since the rape allegations were made public on June 15, said the pair reached a ‘non-monetary’ agreement.
The statement was co-signed by STER and 14 other groups and individuals involved in the case.
They include the Nigeria Feminist Forum, Whine and Wine NG, NoMore234NG, 9jafeminista, Alliances for Africa, Women’s Crisis Centre and Education as a Vaccine. Others are Azeenarh Mohammed, Kiki Mordi, Chioma Agwuegbo, Ayodele Olofintuade, Lesley Agams, Iheoma Obibi, and Buky William.
STER’s stance
STER said as a social justice organisation and women advocates, out-of-court settlements go against its policy.
The statement partly read, “Such settlements, in our experience, often involve an asymmetry of power between the accused and the victim.
“More importantly, while private settlements are usual in civil disputes, they are, however, not applicable to criminal cases, particularly where a felony has been alleged to have been committed, only the State has the authority to discontinue a criminal investigation and prosecution.
