Nigerian Afrobeat megastar David Adeleke, better known as Davido, has spoken out about his ongoing custody battle with Sophia Momodu, the mother of his first daughter, saying he is only asking for her to co-parent his daughter.
The matter is currently the subject of legal proceedings.
Davido also expressed his displeasure over Sophia’s frequent references to the death of his son, who died in 2022.
Davido wrote in an Instagram story: “You constantly bring up the death of my child whenever you can to remind us of this tragedy that haunts us every day of our lives.
“Imade will grow up and see that I fought for her…now you can have her. PS: she won't stay a child forever…enjoy Imade Aurora Adeleke! Your father loves you!”
ALSO READ: Suspended Yobe PHC boss admits stealing therapeutic food
“All I ask for is JOINT CUSTODY!! And nothing else! But because it's 'Davido' you all want to pretend you can't read. Head shake… I'll let that go! Bless you all and I pray this never happens to you.”
Meanwhile, Momodu petitioned a Lagos State High Court in Sabo, Yaba, to deny the musician custody of the child.
She explained to the court on Friday that the complainant was not suitable to receive custody of their daughter because he was constantly unavailable and unable to care for her conscientiously.
She stated this in a counter affidavit which she submitted in response to Davido’s custody suit.
In a related development, Dele Momodu, editor of Ovation International and uncle of Sophia Momodu, the mother of Davido’s first daughter, has advised the duo to refrain from making hurtful and irrevocable statements on social media regarding the custody of their child.
Momodu shared his thoughts on the custody battle between Davido and Sophia on his Instagram page on Saturday.
“The hateful rhetoric in the media should be avoided at all costs as it only exacerbates an already traumatic experience for everyone involved, especially the child involved.”
He urged both parties to give top priority to their daughter's welfare and to compromise on custody and financial responsibility.
“Last night, I received a disturbing message from Mr. David Adeleke (aka Davido). He was obviously devastated by the counter affidavit he filed in court earlier in the day in response to his affidavit demanding joint custody of his daughter with my niece, Sophia Momodu.
“I had seen David's affidavit about two weeks ago and was very surprised because David and I had spoken via video call a few days before, between him and Pastor Tobi Adegboyega, and he had never told me that he had custody issues with my niece.
“So you can imagine my confusion when I learned through social media and subsequently had it confirmed by my niece that he had filed a court case for joint custody of their daughter.
“During the aforementioned video call, we were all very excited about his upcoming wedding ceremony, an event that our family congratulated him on. Earlier, David had told me that he had finally spoken to their daughter after a long gap of about two years.
“He was very happy and excited. So I thought everything was sorted and he and Sophia now had the opportunity to take the best possible care of their daughter. I had especially thanked David's father, Dr. Adedeji Adeleke, for his kindness and support of our daughter during David's absence.
“I had also taken Sophia and her daughter to my very good friend, Governor Ademola Adeleke, and asked him to intervene. To my knowledge, there was never any issue with joint custody.
“The problems were: non-payment of school fees for several semesters; non-payment of accommodation and a nanny's salary; there was no car for David's daughter. And so on. Fortunately, I told everything to Dr. Adedeji Adeleke and he responded positively, like a real grandfather.
“David's father sorted everything out and arranged for future bills to be paid. He gave his granddaughter a car so she could go to school. The remaining problem was accommodation.
“David's father verbally offered me one of their family apartments in Oniru Estate, Victoria Island during discussions but David's lawyers had communicated otherwise, possibly due to a misunderstanding. After making my representations, Sophia politely declined the offer and her reasoning was in my view justifiable because since she is not married to David, she cannot be comfortable living in a place teeming with David's family members.
“She and her daughter had been living in Ikoyi before David and Sophia started their latest quarrel. Sophia's demand was that David should pay half the accommodation while she would pay the other half. David said he could only contribute 5 million naira annually.
“In my opinion, the lack of camaraderie between David and Sophia is the cause of this debacle. I have repeatedly stressed that their daughter must not suffer or be treated like a second-class child. David's global status makes this imperative.”
Comments are closed.