Edi Umoh
A Nigerian pop star, David Adeleke popularly known as Davido, is facing a N1 billion in damages over alleged harassment and cyberbullying of a legal practitioner, Ebelechukwu Enedah.
Enedah is a counsel to Sophia Momodu, the baby mama of Davido.
“We are Counsel to Mrs Ebelechukwu Egeonu Enedah (hereinafter referred to as ‘Our Client’), on whose unequivocal instruction, we notify you of her intention to commence legal action against you,” the letter read.
The dispute followed a heated court hearing in February, after which Davido announced he was withdrawing his custody bid.
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Enedah’s letter, dated February 24, accused Davido of defamatory conduct and demands he stop making public comments about her or the case.
The lawyer claimed that Davido’s actions damaged her professional reputation and exposed her to online attacks.
“The aggregate effect of your conduct has been devastating. Our client, a partner at PUNUKA Attorneys & Solicitors, a legal practitioner of over twenty (20) years’ post-call experience and a professional of impeccable standing, has, as a direct and proximate consequence of your actions, suffered severe damage to her professional reputation, acute emotional distress, well-founded fear for her own life and the lives of her family members, and tangible harm to her professional practice,” the letter reads.
It further added, “To publicly brand a lawyer of her standing as ‘the worst lawyer ever’ is not the expression of grievance. It is a deliberate and malicious act of reputational destruction, targeted at counsel for the singular reason that she discharged her professional duty with competence and without fear.”
Davido had accused Enedah of referencing his late son in court, calling it a “low blow” and sharing her name online.
Enedah denied the allegations and demanded a public apology and retraction on Davido’s social media platforms and in national newspapers.
“You are hereby required to issue a clear and unequivocal public statement withdrawing the defamatory statements and offering an unreserved apology to Our Client,” it stated.
“Should you fail, refuse, or neglect to comply with the above demands within seven (7) days of receipt of this letter, our client shall, without further recourse to you, commence an action at the High Court of Lagos to seek the reliefs outlined herein,” the letter stated.
Following the February 12 hearing, social media posts attributed to Davido criticised the opposing counsel, triggering widespread online reactions and sparking debate over professional conduct, freedom of expression and the limits of public commentary on sub judice matters.
As of the time of filing this report, Adeleke had yet to publicly respond to the allegations or the demands contained in the pre-action notice.
