A long-running paternity dispute involving Afrobeat star David Adeleke, known professionally as Davido, resurfaced on Thursday after a 12-year-old girl publicly appealed to the singer for a DNA test, prompting a sharp denial from the musician.
The girl, Mitchelle Anuoluwapo, who says she is Davido’s daughter, posted an open letter on Instagram describing years of distress linked to the contested claim.
Identifying herself as the singer’s “oldest daughter,” she said she wanted clarity as she approaches her teenage years and asked that a DNA test be conducted to “establish my identity.”
In the post, Anuoluwapo said she had endured bullying since the age of six, alleging that classmates mocked her whenever she claimed Davido was her father.
She wrote that the situation had caused grave emotional strain and led her to seek professional help to protect her mental wellbeing.
The 12-year-old added that she had focused on her education and was performing well academically.
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Addressing the singer directly, she said the request was personal and not motivated by publicity, adding that she had also sent the appeal privately.
She also thanked Nigerians who, she said, had offered her emotional support over several years.
Davido responded forcefully in the comment section of the post and in a series of messages on X, formerly Twitter, insisting the matter had already been resolved.
He said he had undergone five separate DNA tests at different medical facilities, all of which, he claimed, returned negative results.
“I am not your father,” he wrote in a comment, alleging that he had never had a relationship with the girl’s mother beyond the DNA testing process and accusing her of pursuing false claims.
In further posts, the singer said he had agreed to multiple tests in order to put the issue to rest and indicated he would not address the matter again.
He also suggested that legal action could follow against the mother for what he described as persistent and unfounded allegations, while saying he did not blame the child for the situation.