Businessman and philanthropist Adedeji Adeleke has said he would have accepted the child at the centre of a long-running paternity controversy involving his son, Davido, if DNA evidence had shown she was his granddaughter.
Adeleke made the remarks during his first-ever press briefing on the matter, which he said he decided to address publicly because of repeated claims and publications by Kemi Olunloyo.
“This is my first time of addressing the press,” Adeleke said. “Every year there’s this story of one little girl that has alleged David is the father of her child. I have 14 grandchildren. Is it that I cannot afford to bring her into my family? But there is science.”
He said the family first became aware of the allegation in 2014, when he received a letter from a lawyer in Ibadan claiming that his son had impregnated a woman and abandoned the child. According to Adeleke, the package, sent via DHL, contained photographs of the child, her mother and Davido, as well as a birth certificate bearing Davido’s name as the father.
“The letter requested a paternity test, which I obliged,” he said.
Adeleke explained that arrangements were made for a DNA test involving Davido, the child and the child’s mother. “The DNA test was not done by blood. It was by saliva,” he said. “They brought swabs, swabbed David, the baby and the mother, and took samples.”
He said both he and the child’s grandmother signed to receive the results, which, according to him, showed a “0.00 per cent” probability of paternity. Adeleke added that while the results were made available to the press, legal limitations prevented full disclosure without the consent of the minor or her mother.
“When we went to do the test, David told me he had never seen her before,” Adeleke said. “I told him all I want to see is the DNA test, and if this girl is our child, I am taking the child.”
He said the child’s grandmother disputed the outcome, alleging that the samples had been tampered with, and took the matter to traditional rulers, including the Ooni of Ife. Adeleke said he insisted that “science is the only thing that will prevail.”
According to him, the issue resurfaced in late 2020 when the child’s aunt contacted him to request a confirmatory test. Adeleke said he agreed and also authorised additional tests after claims emerged on social media suggesting that the child might be related to Davido’s cousin, B-Red.
“That’s why we say we’ve done three tests by David and two by Bayo,” he said. “When the results came out, it was the same.”
Adeleke said he compared the DNA results with that of Davido’s daughter, Imade, which showed a 99.99 per cent probability of paternity, while the child at the centre of the dispute showed 0.00 per cent. “The same clinic,” he added.
He also spoke about providing support to the child’s family, including financial assistance and educational support. Adeleke said the child’s mother was enrolled on a scholarship at Adeleke University under a mature students’ work-study programme, where she completed her 100 and 200 levels.
“She was doing well in school,” he said, adding that she later stopped attending before her 300 level for reasons he said he did not know.
Adeleke said his decision to speak publicly was motivated by concern for the child. “I want that little girl to have closure,” he said. “What the grandma is doing to that little girl is not fair.”
He rejected claims that the Adeleke family had refused to accept the child. “Saying that we don’t want to accept her, I’ll be more than happy to accept her if she was David’s child,” he said. “David has never denied a child.”
Adeleke added that much of the family’s involvement had been kept private. “Look at all we have done without announcing it to anybody,” he said.
