D’banj was born on June 9, 1980, to a military dad and was expected to become a military man. But the death of his elder brother, Femi Oyebanjo changed his life drastically.
At 13, he picked up his late brother’s harmonica and began to teach himself to play. Because of his love for music, he quit his mechanical engineering programme to study Music engineering.
He moved to London to chase his love for music. While working as a security guard in London, he met Don Jazzy and JJC. He soon became a part of the ‘JJC and 419 Squad’.
In 2004, D’banj and Don Jazzy left the squad and moved back to Nigeria. His mother, Florence Oyebanjo was on hand to help them with accommodation, transportation and some financing. D’Banj says his mom was ‘a seed investor’. She even paid for the video of ‘Tongolo.’
By 2005, he had released his debut album, ‘No Long Thing’, performed his first major gig in London, and started Mo’Hits records with Don Jazzy. The album earned him the ‘Best Newcomer’ award at Channel O Music Video Awards in 2006. The album also earned him his first Headies award. At that same edition of the Headies, D’banj had one of his most iconic performances ever.
He created his own signature style (dark shades and two wristwatches) and began creating new nicknames like Koko Master and Mr Endowed.
After the success of his debut album, he released the ‘RunDown Funk U Up’ album in 2006. The lead single, ‘Why Me?’ won him his first MTV Europe Music Award in 2007. That same year, they released the only Mo’Hits compilation album, ‘Curriculum Vitae’.
In 2008, he released his third album, ‘Entertainer’ to critical acclaim. The album gave him his third Headies award as ‘Artiste of the Year’. In 2009, he debuted his all-female reality show, ‘Koko Mansion’ to find his ideal woman. That same year, he won the Artist of the Year at the MTV Africa Music Awards.
He signed a JV deal with Kanye West’s G.O.O.D Music in 2011 and released ‘Oliver Twist’ which currently has over 52 million views on YouTube. The song earned him two awards at the 2012 Channel O Music Video Awards for ‘Most Gifted Male Video’ and ‘Most Gifted Video of the Year.’
D’banj parted ways with Don Jazzy in 2012 and created his own DB records. His younger brother, Kehinde Oladotun Oyebanjo (Kay Switch) also left Mo’ Hits Records and joined him in the new label. D’banj went on to win the 2012 Music of Black Origin (MOBO) award for ‘Best African Act’.
In 2013, he released his fourth project, a DB Records compilation album (D’Kings Men) that featured songs like ‘Scapegoat’ and ‘On Top of The World’. His brother, Kay Switch was also featured on six of the songs in the 20-track album.
Between 2013 and 2015, D’banj signed multiple endorsement deals with brands like Ciroc, Beats By Dre, Globacom and more. In 2014, he won World Best Male Artiste at the World Music Awards. That same year, he performed At The Africa Cup of Nations Closing Ceremony. His 2015 performance at the MTV Africa Music Awards was one for the books.
In 2016, he launched The CREAM platform.
He also got married to Lineo Didi Kilgrow in 2016. They had a son together, Daniel Oyebanjo III, who they sadly lost in June 2018 to a drowning accident. D’banj later shared on social media that things had been very difficult after his son’s death. He said, ‘The past few weeks have been incredibly trying and difficult, but God’s love has kept me and my family going.’ On Thursday, September 19, 2019, the couple welcomed another child in the US.
He released his fifth project, the ‘King Don Come’ album in 2017. For the first time, 5 years after separation on December 27, 2017, Mo’hits artistes performed together at Davido’s “30 Billion Concert” show.
In 2018, D’banj performed at Global Citizen Festival which was held in Johannesburg, South Africa. In 2018 and 2019 he released some hit songs including ‘Mo Cover Eh’, ‘Shake It’, ‘Issa Banger’ and ‘Shy’. In the course of his career, D’banj performed with international acts like Snoop Dogg, Akon and several others.
A long line-up of awards, sold-out shows around the world, a stellar career by all standards, DBanj has no doubt earned his place as one of the greatest entertainers out of Africa. But all that was tainted in 2020.
On June 3, 2020, a few days before his 40th birthday, D’banj condemned rape on his social media page and unknowingly ruffled some feathers. Later that day, a model scout, Benjamin Ese called him out as a rapist. Then Seyitan Babatayo, whom he allegedly raped also shared her story on Twitter a few days after.
The 23-year-old style influencer said she had met D’banj at an all-white party she was invited to by his former Manager, Frank Amudo. She said she had gone to Glee Hotel, where she was lodged after the party, to sleep. She woke up to find D’banj assaulting her and when she started to scream, he threatened to walk her out of the hotel naked. She went on to allege that D’Banj raped her and left her in that hotel room.
D’banj and his team chose to ignore the allegations as preparations for his birthday were in full swing. He celebrated his 40th birthday with a small-scale party on June 9, 2020.
The trouble really began when D’banj finally responded to the allegations with a lawsuit days after his birthday. He requested that Seyitan should recant her statement, publicly apologise and pay him N100 million in damages. Everyone applauded him for handling the issue the legal way.
Then the next day, some Twitter users said that D’banj’s team had gotten Seyitan arrested and were denying her access to her lawyers. His team deleted all her tweets before posting a video to promote his new song.
Other celebrities and NGOs immediately spoke up about the issue, with many condemning him for getting his accuser arrested.
Rita Dominic outrightly condemned Seyitan’s detention in a tweet saying, ‘Everyone involved in detaining Ms Babatayo has a case to answer. Keeping quiet about this only serves to shut down victims & that’s not something we should encourage in our society. Defending oneself from a rape accusation should not include intimidation of the accuser.’
Banky W said, ‘If Dbanj truly was being falsely accused, then a “defamation of character” lawsuit was the right move – but that’s where it should have stopped. Whether it was overzealous police officers/Dbanj/his handlers that orchestrated it – locking Seyitan and/or her Mom in jail, seizing her phone, preventing her from reaching her lawyers/family, etc is completely wrong – and I hope Dbanj will denounce it himself.’
Other celebrities like his former partner Don Jazzy, M.I, Timini Egbuson, Dorcas Shola Fapson, Eku Edewor and many more also publicly condemned his action.
A non-profit organization championing the cause against sexual and gender-based violence in Nigeria, Stand To End Rape Initiative also got involved in the case. Seyitan confirmed in a statement that S.T.E.R and other activists tracked her to the location where she was being held by D’banj and his team and took her away safely.
She said, ‘thanks to the Executive Director of Stand To End Rape Initiative (STER), and other activists who swung into action and tracked me to the location where I was being held by D’banj and his team, using satellite mapping. I was immediately removed from the environment and taken to a safe place where I was provided with immediate support.’
She also admitted that the initiative was lending her support through this trying times saying, ‘Stand To End Rape Initiative (STER), have and still continue to provide therapy and mental healthcare for me, whilst also ensuring my physical safety to ensure neither D’banj nor the Police can continue to harass or intimidate me.’
D’banj responded to that statement by posting a video where he was dancing to one of his songs, ‘Olorun Maje’ and said, ‘Stop social media trial’.
What followed was a series of comments from different people, including influencers and D’banj’s associates that raised questions about the authenticity of Seyitan’s story and the intentions of her helpers. Riding on the wave of this ‘win’, D’banj then filed another suit against Seyitan for N1.5 billion naira.
But the case tilted back in Seyitan’s favour when D’banj’s ex-manager, Frank Amudo confirmed that Seyitan had called him the day after she was allegedly raped to tell him what had happened. Frank made it even more difficult to believe D’banj’s innocence when he claimed in an interview that Damian Okoroafor, D’banj’s manager had asked him to publicly discredit Seyitan’s story.
The entertainment industry has been undergoing a revival against rape and many entertainers have been accused of sexual assault in recent times. Lancelot Imasuen, Victor Okpala, Bollylomo, Uti Nwachukwu, Andre Blaze, Peruzzi, and Brymo have all been accused of sexual assault by different women at different times. They all handled their accusations in different ways but many of them have managed to contain the situation.
Uti Nwachukwu, Bollylomo, Victor Okpala and Brymo all released statements denying the accusations and threatening to sue for defamation. Uti Nwachukwu’s accuser deleted her account and stopped publicly commenting about the issue after he petitioned the IGP to intervene in the case.
Lancelot Imasuen’s wife says she believes her husband is not a rapist and the actress, Sylvia Oluchy who accused him was asked to take legal actions against him if she was sure about her claims. She hasn’t taken any.
Also, in the U.S, the #MeToo movement encouraged many women to speak up about their sexual assault experiences and many celebrities are feeling the heat. Some of the more notable cases include those of R-Kelly, Bill Cosby, Jeffery Epstein, and Harvey Weinstein. All of whom are now behind bars, including R-Kelly whose case is still being tried and is yet to be sentenced. Epstein is controversially no more.
The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu investigated D’banj for Rape, Indecent Sexual Assault, and Attempted Assault following a petition written by Seyitan’s lawyer. Many believe he and his minders did a poor job of managing the situation.
Under Nigeria’s Criminal Code (Section 357 & 358), Rape is defined as “having unlawful carnal knowledge of a woman or girl, without her consent, or with her consent, if the consent is obtained by force or by means of threats or intimidation of any kind, or by fear of harm, or by means of false act, or, in case of a married woman, be personating her husband.” The offence is punishable by ‘up to imprisonment for life, with or without caning.’
The police investigated the allegations made by Seyitan against D’banj, and both were questioned by the police on the activities of that night. Observers hoped that the case would not disappear under the radar. D’banj was never charged as the case did not make it to court.
On Friday, July 24, STER Initiative released a statement saying both parties had reached a private non-monetary settlement. This was confirmed by Seyitan in a personal statement released that same day. She said that she and her family made the decision to settle matters with D’Banj, as she wanted an end to the conflict. D’Banj is yet to say anything. It remains uncertain whether he will withdraw his own defamation suit against her.
It’s the end of one chapter, but as the rape allegations will now die off, the incident has altered D’banj’s reputation forever.
The most recent reports from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics show that about 2,279 rape cases were reported in 2017 and none of the offenders was convicted. The National sexual offenders register records only 15 convicted cases but the International Center for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) say that there have been more than 65 rape convictions in Nigeria’s legal history. The numbers cannot be confirmed though, since there is no proper documentation of reported cases, prosecuted cases and actual convictions.
State and federal governments are now working to change that. Lagos, Ekiti, FCT, Anambra and Enugu states are few of those whose governors have established new procedures for bringing perpetrators of sexual assault to book. Many Nigerians are now using the opportunity to ask for an open and credible investigation and prosecution of the popular Busola Dakolo vs. Biodun Fatoyinbo case, which is still in court. No better way to pass the message to everyone that time’s up in Nigeria, too.
As for D’Banj? He will continue to be one of the greatest African entertainers to ever live; damaged reputation or not. The first step towards repairing his reputation could be working with bodies like STER to make life easier and better for women. And many celebrities like him will get the message; that they’re expected to do better.
For Seyitan and others like her, we can only hope that true justice is served every time it is needed, as we all work to make the world a better place.
By Abiola Ashimi, Dara Oluwatoye, and Mofijesusewa Samuel
