Entertainment
Davido More Interested In Intimacy Than Our Daughter’s Welfare – Sophia Tells Court
Sophia Momodu, the mother of Davido’s daughter, has told a Lagos State High Court sitting in Sabo, Yaba, not to grant the child’s custody to the musician.
This, she said is because Davido is more interested in exploiting her sexually than catering for their daughter’s welfare.
Momodu told the court on Friday that the applicant was not fit to be granted custody of their daughter because he is always unavailable and does not possess the ability to dutifully care for her.
She stated this in a counter-affidavit she filed in opposition to Davido’s suit seeking custody.
According to her, while their relationship lasted, Davido never showed true commitment or love towards their daughter.
“He always used the condition of making myself available for his sexual pleasures as a precondition to visit our daughter or show some fatherly love to her.
“The applicant, apart from his cravings for sex, only comes around to spend time with our daughter when he wants to use our daughter for his media stunts or promotions.
“The applicant has always been known to go away and stop communicating with our daughter, to stop making payments for school fees and/or maintenance for our daughter, whenever I refused his sexual advances,” she stated.
The respondent stated that Davido once threw her and their daughter out of his home in Atlanta, US, during a summer holiday in 2017 and they ended up squatting with a friend.
Momodu stated that she never denied Davido access to his daughter and that it was he who chose to be “an absentee father.”
She added that she had been responsible for her accommodation and that the artiste had always had access to their daughter until he chose to abuse it by visiting at odd hours to demand sex.
“When I noticed that the intention of the applicant for coming late at night to my house was not to visit our daughter but to seek sexual favours, even after our relationship had ended, I told him to desist from such late-night visits, as our daughter, who needed to be in school in the morning, would have slept at the time of his late-night visits.
“It was when I refused the applicant’s ingress into my house at ungodly hours of the night on the pretext of visiting our daughter that he decided to stop visiting or calling our daughter and this has been the pattern with the applicant all through his relationship with our daughter.
“Whenever I refused to be his sex slave, he would stop caring for his daughter and abandon her and use the fact of our daughter’s sadness due to his absence to force me to accede to his unwholesome demands.
“I have never stopped the applicant or his family members from coming to visit his daughter, calling or reconnecting with our daughter,” she stated.
The respondent again stated that contrary to Davido’s claim, he has not been faithful in paying their daughter’s school fees, having defaulted in 2021 and 2022, with the school writing to her in January 2023, over unpaid tuition.
“The school wrote via email notifying me that our daughter will not be allowed entry into the school unless all outstanding fees from 2021 to 2023 were paid off,” she said.
Momodu told the court that it was Davido’s father who intervened and paid the school fees.
She stated that contrary to Davido’s claim, she has been the one paying the rent of the apartment where she lives with her daughter, adding that Davido did not buy any house for them.
Momodu said she has been providing the best care for her daughter, despite her father’s negligence and will continue to do so as a loving mother.
The respondent was represented at Friday’s proceedings before Justice A. J. Bashua, by a legal team led by Chief Anthony Idigbe, SAN, of Punuka Attorneys & Solicitors.
Chief Idigbe drew attention to the publication of a hearing notice in a national newspaper by Davido’s legal team, in which the name of his daughter was mentioned four times.
The judge agreed with Chief Idigbe that while the press was free to report, the child’s name ought not to be mentioned at all.
The judge then asked members of the press, litigants and all other counsel not involved in the case to leave the courtroom during the hearing.
Before they left, Chief Idigbe, with the court’s permission, drew the attention of members of the press to Section 143 of the Child’s Rights Law of Lagos State 2015.
It provides that in a case involving a minor: “No person must be allowed to attend court, other than the members and officers of the court and the parties to the case.
It also provides that their solicitors and counsel, parents and guardians of the child and other persons directly concerned in the case were free to be allowed in.”
Chief Idigbe also referred to Section 144 of the law, which prohibits the publication of a child’s name.
The section reads: “No person must publish the name, address, school, photograph, or anything likely to lead to the identification of a child in a matter before the court, except as required by the provisions of this law.”
He further referred to Section 145 of the Child Rights Law, which provides: “The proceedings in the court must be conducive to the best interest of the child and must be conducted in an atmosphere of understanding, allowing the child to express himself and participate in the proceedings.”
Momodu, in the counter-affidavit, also faulted the publication of the suit in a national newspaper.
“The applicant (Davido) in publishing this suit in a national newspaper has exposed our daughter to great danger.
“I would have to implement extra security measures to ensure the continued safety of our daughter in school,” she stated.
At the end of the proceedings, it was learnt that the court referred the case for possible settlement by the Alternative Dispute Resolution section of the court during Settlement Week.
Famous Nollywood actress and filmmaker, Funke Akindele, has responded to her colleague, Kunle Afolayan’s comments on profit making strategies and N2 billion cinema gross.
Afolayan had spoken at the recent Lagos Business of Film summit, describing the relentless cycle of content creation required for modern film promotion as “unsustainable.”
While addressing his colleagues on his approach to filmmaking and profitability, the filmmaker during the launching of his movie ‘Anikulapo’, said “There is no competition between us. I don’t just want N1 billion or N2 billion in the cinema that I won’t be able to personally receive N10 million from.”
Afolayan also took a swipe at Funke, saying, “I want to make a film if you guarantee that I do not have to dance to sell that film. Are there other ways? We need to come up with other strategies. How do we sell without exhausting ourselves?
“I do not know how Funke and the likes of them are doing it – creating all of those skits, changing costumes every day.
“I cannot do it. But we have stories we have been working on for more than four years, and we are willing to do,” he added.
However, reacting in a series of Instagram stories, Akindele presented a different perspective, urging filmmakers to innovate rather than withdraw.
She argued that creators can and should develop their own promotional models.
Akindele maintained that she is committed to her own promotional style, stating she is “believing in Gods plan for me”.
She emphasised that the industry holds limitless opportunities, and success does not require following a single blueprint.
“I’m not the one hindering your progress. Karin ka po, yiye ni n ye ni,” she wrote in a mixture of Yorùbá and English.
“If you can’t beat them or join them, create your own path. No allow jealousy burn you. The sky is so big for everybody to fly. Eyin Werey jojo!!!
“Go ahead and create alternative promotion or marketing strategies for promoting your business, or hire a company to handle it.
“You can do it! The opportunities are endless, and everyone has their own path. I’m focused on mine, and I have faith in God’s plan for me.”
Entertainment
Cybercrime Battle: Nollywood’s Angela Okorie Remanded Following Mercy Johnson Petition
A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the remand of actress Angela Okorie in Suleja Correctional Centre over alleged cyberstalking and criminal defamation.
Justice Emeka Nwite gave the order on Wednesday after Angela was arraigned on a three count charge filed by the Nigeria Police Force. The actress pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Her counsel, Alex Ejesieme, applied for bail, but the court declined and ordered that she be remanded pending the hearing of her formal bail application on January 30.
According to the charge, Angela allegedly conspired with one Ifeoma Mbonu, who is currently at large, to cyberstalk and defame fellow actress Mercy Johnson through posts on Instagram and TikTok.
The police alleged that the offences were committed in 2024 and contravened provisions of the Cybercrime (Prohibition Prevention, Etc) Act 2015.
Part of the petition written by Mercy Johnson’s lawyer accused Okorie of posting the following statement online:
“Blood sucking demon no see blood suck again, E say na slimming tea. Except there’s no God, MJ go and beg people you chop their destinies and destroyed their hornes else no peace for the wicked!!! Gospel songs won’t save you. Your heart Is Dark!!!”
The petition stated that the publication was intended to cause serious reputational damage and emotional distress. It added that the post was meant to “incite hatred, provoke unrest among the public and further harass and emotionally traumatize our client.”
Prosecuting counsel Victor Okoye asked the court to remand Angela and fix a date for trial. He argued that the administrative bail earlier granted to the actress had lapsed following her arraignment.
Ejesieme told the court that the actress was not given enough time to prepare for her defence, adding that she was served the charge shortly before proceedings began. He also said she was not previously informed about the case before being brought from Lagos to Abuja.
Justice Nwite held that the court could not entertain an oral bail application and ordered both parties to file and exchange all necessary documents within 24 hours. He then ordered that Angela be remanded in Suleja Prison pending the bail hearing.
Angela was arrested on Tuesday by operatives of the Nigeria Police Force Cybercrime Centre at her residence in Lagos. She was detained overnight at the Yaba Police Station before being taken to Abuja for arraignment.
The case follows a long running public dispute between Angela and Mercy Johnson, which has played out on social media over the years with several exchanges and allegations.
Neither Angela nor Mercy has issued an official statement since the court proceedings.
Toyin Abraham’s first directorial debut ‘Oversabi Aunty’ surpasses 1billion streams, grossing more than N1billion at Box Office earnings.
The milestone was announced by Filmone Entertainment, the film’s distributor, via its Instagram handle @filmoneng.
“First Nollywood directorial debute to hit 1billion, and 4th highest grossing Nollywood film of all time.
“West Africa, this is a full celebration. World best for a reason, and Oversabi Aunty is still showing in the cinemas worldwide”.
Reacting to the achievement, Abraham took to her Instagram page @toyin_abraham to show appreciation to God, her crew and her fans for the support.
“Thank you God, Toyintitans, Nigerians, my casts, crew, Filmone, and everyone that has collaborated in making the movie a success.
“I am short for words. My first directorial debute on the big screen. Oversabi Aunty to the world and still showing in the cinemas near you,” Abraham said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that ‘Oversabi Aunty’ was released in the cinemas across Nigeria on Dec. 29, 2025.
Directed by Toyin Abraham, in collaboration with Filmone Studios, the film features star studded cast like Ngozi Ezeonu, Queen Nwokoye, Jemena Osunde, Mike Ezuruonye, Toyin Afolayan, Emeka Okoye, and Femi Adebayo.
The film follows the story of Toun, a self-righteous church usher who is obsessed with fixing others and turns family life into a battlefield.
The comedy drama is a masterpiece about faith; however, it is filled with family tension, humour, drama, everyday life situations and the fine line between devotion and delusion. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
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