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DNA tests cleared Davido in paternity dispute — Father

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Dr. Deji Adeleke, father of Afrobeats star David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has revealed that DNA tests confirm his son is not the father of a girl, Aanu, who had been at the centre of a controversial paternity dispute.

Adeleke made this known while addressing journalists at his Lagos home on Wednesday.

He explained that the girl is not his son’s child, as proven by DNA tests conducted at multiple hospitals in Lagos.

The businessman said he first learned about the case in 2014 when he received a letter from a lawyer in Ibadan alleging that Davido had impregnated a woman, Ayo Labinjoh, and abandoned the child.

Adeleke, who is a grandfather of 14, stressed that while he welcomes grandchildren, science must guide the confirmation of paternity.

He said, “I have 14 grandchildren, so what will one more do? Is it that I will not be able to afford to do things for her or bring her into my family? I want more grandchildren, but there is science — DNA. If you say you are my granddaughter and science has proven that you are my granddaughter, I would gladly accept you.”

Discussing the lawyer’s letter, Adeleke said the document, which included a picture of the child, Davido, and the mother, also contained the child’s birth certificate.

He questioned the names listed.

“And in that mail also, curiously, there was a birth certificate of the child.”

And what caught my attention was that in the record of the birth certificate, it said the full name of the father: Adeleke David, the full name of the mother: Adeleke Ayotomide. How can she be Adeleke?”

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Adeleke said three DNA tests were conducted for Davido. Two came out negative, while the third sample was declared contaminated and spoiled. To rule out mistaken identity with Davido’s cousin, Adebayo Adeleke, known as B-Red, two tests were also conducted for him, which also proved negative.

He narrated his initial steps in handling the case.

“Immediately I saw this letter, even before calling David, I called this woman and said, ‘Look, I’m not speaking to my son yet, but I’m going to speak to him. But I’ll suggest to you to give me your address in Ibadan. I’ll send my driver to come and know where you live, but I can assure you that if this girl is my granddaughter, you have no problems with me; I’ll welcome her into my family happily.’ She was happy. She gave me her address, and I gave the address to my driver.”

Described the DNA test as arranged, Adeleke said, “And I called her, gave her the information that anytime they were ready, I would send my driver to pick them up from Ibadan. So, on the appointed day, I sent my driver to Ibadan. Very early, my driver brought the mother of the child, the grandmother, and the baby. The three of them came.

“And because my driver knows Vedic Hospital, they were already there before I came in with David, because I asked David to come here, and his aide, Lati. So David, I, and Lati met them at Vedic Hospital. We went upstairs where the samples were taken.”

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Clarifying the procedure, Adeleke said, “So we were all in the same room, and he (the doctor) told us the procedure. It was not blood. I’ve read on social media that they were drawing blood. It’s not. It was not done by blood. It was from their saliva in their mouth. And he told us that these samples would be sent to South Africa for analysis. The grandmother of the baby and I signed that both of us would be the ones to receive the result.”

He revealed the outcome.

“When the result came, there was 0.00 possibility that Davido was the girl’s father. Another test, he said, also turned negative.”

Despite the negative results, Adeleke said he had been sponsoring the education of the girl and her mother at the university, in line with the family’s request. He noted that the mother stopped schooling after two sessions, while the girl completed her primary education.

The paternity dispute resurfaced on January 15, 2025, when an Instagram account reportedly managed by Labinjoh posted a plea to Davido, claiming her daughter had suffered bullying and ridicule at school. The post requested a DNA test to confirm paternity.

Davido dismissed the claims on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “After five DNA tests… she dey crase… she and her mom better leave me the f**k alone and go find her papa.” He emphasized that all tests had been negative.

Labinjoh countered by posting private chats between her daughter and Davido.

Meanwhile, Adeleke claimed that a sister of the girl informed him that the social media accounts alleging Davido had abandoned Aanu and her mother were opened and managed by a media personality without the family’s consent.

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Nigeria’s ambassador-designate to Algeria, Lele, dies at 50

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The Federal Government has announced the death of Nigeria’s ambassador-designate to Algeria, Mohammed Mahmud Lele, who died at the age of 50.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs disclosed this in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday by its spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa.

According to the ministry, Lele died in the early hours of April 19, 2026, in Ankara, Türkiye, after a protracted illness.

The ministry described the late diplomat as a dedicated officer who served the country with distinction.

“The late Ambassador Lele, until his death after a protracted illness, was the Director in charge of the Middle East and Gulf Division in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“Ambassador Lele, a career diplomat, was recently appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as Ambassador-designate to the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, following the Nigerian Senate’s confirmation of his nomination,” the statement said.

Born in Gamawa, Bauchi State, in 1976, Lele studied Economics at Bayero University, Kano, and went on to serve in Nigerian missions in Berlin, Lomé and Riyadh.

“Ambassador Lele was known for his intellectual depth, strategic insight and commitment to the advancement of Nigeria’s foreign policy objectives,” the statement added.

The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dunoma Umar Ahmed, who received the remains of the late diplomat at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, described him as “a hardworking, humble and fine officer, who will be sorely missed by the ministry.”

The ministry added that his death “is a monumental loss not only to his immediate family but also to the entire Foreign Service community and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

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Lele was buried on Wednesday in Kano in accordance with Islamic rites.

The ministry extended condolences to his family, associates, and the government and people of Bauchi State, praying for the peaceful repose of his soul and strength for those he left behind.

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Governor Amuneke reveals party officials offered him dollars to alter anti-govt skits

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Comedian Kevin Chinedu, popularly known as Kevinblak, has revealed that officials of a political party offered him dollars to change his satirical skits criticising politicians and governance.

He made the disclosure on Monday in an interview on ARISEtv’s Arise 360 programme, where he spoke about the pressures facing content creators who hold public officials accountable through humour.

Chinedu, known for his character Governor Amuneke, said the approach came at a particularly vulnerable moment, shortly after his wife had a Caesarean section and he was under financial strain.

“They said they were going to change my life, that I’m earning crumbs, you know, give me dollars. They mentioned that my colleagues are in the game and all of that,” he said.

He declined to name the party, saying only that it was “Amuneke’s party”, a reference to the fictional political figure in his skits, and cautioned against any attempt to identify it publicly.

“Don’t mention names, trust me, don’t mention names,” he said.

Despite the financial pressure, the comedian said he turned down the offer, recalling how the officials had tried to lure him to Abuja with the promise of a life-changing sum.

“I had a lot of bills on my head and I just heard come, come to Abuja, let’s change your life. Dollars upon dollars,” he said.

He said he ultimately held firm, guided by a personal code he had maintained throughout his career.

“I looked at it, I said, no, I am who I am. I’ve been here for a long time, and I’ve never been in any illegal thing, and I’ve never been somewhere, you know, I’m doing something because I’m being influenced, because of money.

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“If I want to do it, it should be something I’m doing because I want to do it. So, you know, it is what it is,” he said.

When asked whether friends had urged him to accept the money, Chinedu said his inner circle was equally principled, and had themselves been approached and refused.

“I don’t have friends that are easily overwhelmed with money. I have people who have principles because they have, you know, approached them, they themselves. So, we always have that conversation,” he said.

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Over 4,600 Nigerian doctors relocate to UK in three years – Report

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Nigeria’s already fragile healthcare system is facing renewed strain as no fewer than 4,691 doctors have relocated to the United Kingdom since President Bola Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023, fresh data from the General Medical Council shows.

The UK GMC is a public official register detailing the number of practising doctors in the UK alongside other details such as their areas of speciality, country of training, among others.

The mass migration represents not just a human resource crisis but a significant economic loss.

With the Federal Government estimating that it costs about $21,000 to train a single doctor, Nigeria has effectively lost at least $98.5m in training investments within less than two years.

The figure put the total number of Nigeria-trained doctors currently practising in the UK to about 15,692, making Nigeria one of the largest sources of foreign-trained doctors in Britain, second only to India.

As of May 28, 2025, official records showed that the number of Nigerian-trained doctors in the UK was a little over 11,000. The figure has grown significantly since then.

The exodus of doctors comes as Nigeria’s doctor-to-population ratio hovers around 3.9 per 10,000 people, far below the minimum threshold recommended by the World Health Organisation.

For many health experts, the numbers confirm what has long been visible: a system gradually losing its most critical workforce.

The Nigerian Medical Association has repeatedly warned that poor remuneration, unsafe working conditions, and inadequate infrastructure are pushing doctors out of the country.

“Our members are overworked, underpaid and exposed to unsafe environments daily. Many are simply burnt out,” the NMA said in one of its recent statements addressing workforce migration.

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Similarly, the National Association of Resident Doctors has consistently highlighted the toll on younger doctors, who form the backbone of Nigeria’s tertiary healthcare system.

“Doctors are leaving because the system is failing them—irregular salaries, excessive workload, and lack of training opportunities,” NARD noted during one of its nationwide engagements.

Ironically, the doctor exodus persists even as Nigeria continues to spend heavily on healthcare abroad.

While official foreign exchange data shows only modest spending on medical tourism in recent years, broader estimates suggest Nigerians still spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually seeking treatment overseas.

For instance, a recent report by The PUNCH revealed that foreign exchange outflow for health-related travel by Nigerians surged to $549.29m in the first nine months of 2025, a 17.96 per cent increase from $465.67m in the same period of 2024, according to official data by Nigeria’s apex bank.

A public health expert, Dr David Adewole, noted that the Federal Government’s national policy on health workforce migration, aimed at curbing the growing trend of health professionals leaving the country—commonly referred to as ‘Japa’—is a good initiative, but may not do much to address the fundamental problems of the shortage of skilled healthcare professionals in Nigeria, particularly in rural and underserved areas.

According to him, many of the push factors for health professionals emigrating to greener pastures, like insecurity, emolument and lack of basic amenities like potable water, health facilities, cost of living and constant electricity, persisted.

He stated: “To make healthcare workers stay here, let the salaries be enough so that what you earn will be much more than the multiples of what you need for basic needs, like food, power supply, housing, and so forth.

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“People still look at life after retirement. You might have a good policy, but its implementation is the issue. For example, you are retired, and for your retirement package, you don’t need to know anyone for it to be processed promptly.

“Then subsequently, your monthly pension, without pressing anybody, should be paid. Those things are not here.

“And when you go to the hospital abroad, if you tell them that you are in a hurry, you go to your home; they’ll bring the medicines to your doorstep.”

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