By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
What started out in the court of social media some weeks back, has now moved to Nigeria’s justice system as a case of libel, according to Dbanj, and sexual assault, Seyitan claims.
On the street of Nigerian Twitter, as users of the App call it, the debate whether Dbanj, whose birth name is Oladapo Daniel Oyebanjo raped Seyiyan Babatayo, simply refuse to go away.
The reason for this sharp divide is the manner the allegation came. Seyitan was not the first to raise her rape allegation on the social media. Benjamin Ese, was the first to make the claim.
He had alleged that Dbanj raped his friend on December 31, 2018, at a hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos.
What makes the rape atory controversial was the allegation that Dbanj had access to the key of Seyitan’s hotel apartment, an apartment he did not pay for.
The timing of the allegation was also problematic. It came almost two years after the alleged act was committed.
More troubling was that there is no documented proof of criminal complaints against Dbanj at the time and the hotel staff who allegedly gave him access to her room.
The Benjamin’s story left many Nigerians querying the authenticity of the claim.
The alleged victim then showed up on social media. She gave her name as Seyitan Babatayo. She corroborated what Benjamin said in a tweet thread on Wednesday, June 3, 2020 which she later deleted, alleging duress.
Seyitan also shared a WhatsApp conversation from 2019 talking about the incident with a friend.
She wrote alongside a screenshot of the WhatsApp conversation,
“I was invited for an all-white party at Eko Atlantic (splash off) which was an all-night party on the 30th of December 2018, by Franklin, Dbanj’s ex-manager at that time and I went with my friend then named Laide.
“When I got to the party I met a girl at the party named Oyin, who was with a guy who happens to be Dbanj’s friend. She asked who I came with. I told her the person I came with already left.
“When I was leaving Oyin and I exchanged number and she asked where I was lodged I told her Glee hotel in VI, and she said it was the same hotel she was lodged and I asked her, if she could drop me off she said that wasn’t a problem.
“On getting to the hotel, Oyin called me when I got to my room. and told me DBanj saw me at the party and he wanted to be with me for the night and I was offered a sum of money, but I bluntly refused because I wasn’t interested.
“So, I slept off within 5/6 am and pls note (I’m a naked sleeper) and woke up and found Dbanj in my room already, and I asked him what he was doing in my room he didn’t say a word and asked if I was a baby and started fingering me,
“I went ahead to threaten him that I was going to shout he said if I shout I’ll leave the hotel naked, Dbanj raped me. When he left, I got to see he came in with an extra key (card) and I later found out that Dbanj lodged all his staffs in the hotel. Then, I called my supposed friend Oyin who I saw at the party if she planned with Dbanj she said No.
“She came downstairs to meet me where I was crying. She asked us to go upstairs to meet her guy who was Dbanj’s friend. When I got there the guy was disappointed and begged me to keep quiet and promised me Dbanj will call me and apologize. And he gave my friend $100 to give me for medication.
“I’m so livid and mad seeing a rapist being an advocate for rape. This is my story and I know there are lots of girls who can’t come out to say their story. Don’t be ashamed to say your story it took me two years to write my Rape story #wearetired,” Seyitan said.
Glee Hotel, the location where the rape story occurred, has denied ever having Seyitan as its guest at that time.
“Our attention has been brought to the rape allegation trending on Instagram made against the popular musician Dbanj. It is said to have happened at Glee Hotel sometime in December 2018. It is alleged that the front office at Glee gave Dbanj the key to a guest room without their consent. We state firmly that this is FALSE and can never happen at Glee.
“We operate best practices and the welfare and security of our guests are paramount to us. We advise the accuser to check with the person who paid for the said room as she said the name was not on record as a guest. Any person who pays has access to two keys for all the rooms paid for by them. We never got any complaints then or at any time afterwards regarding any form of abuse.
“We will never condone any form of abuse particularly to a lady at our premises (Glee). We are happy to assist in investigating the matter properly. Our lawyers have been informed and we are taking the matter very seriously. We SAY LOUDLY NO to rape or any form of abuse towards women, ” the hotel said in a statement.
Dbanj announced a N100 million suit against his accuser. But instead of the case going to the court, it went to the police who allegedly arrested Seyitan.
Seyitan’s arrest was seen by many people as a ploy to intimidate her since she alleged that the police and Dbanj friends forced her to delete the Twitter allegation.
While Seyitan was in police custody, her Twitter account shared a yet-to-be-released record of D’banj, leaving many confused.
Whatever that is going on between the two has already become a subject of probe which the Inspector General of Police ordered.
