When a person is accused of rape, there are technically two ways the reaction to the accusation can go: The first reaction (and often easiest for both the victim and the accused in terms of closure), is to admit that the alleged rape actually took place and then seek out ways of genuinely making amends to the victim. The second reaction is to deny the claims, and this too often leads to the accused threatening the victim with legal action.
A couple of weeks ago, music star D’banj was accused of rape. This resulted in a division of opinions – the people who believed the victim, and the people who were on the fence and needed more proof or more evidence or poked holes in the victim’s story or generally pledged allegiance to D’banj.
As of today, the 18th of June 2020, there isn’t that much of a division of opinions anymore. More and more people are using the same voice to ask one question – What is D’banj doing?
Here’s what D’banj has allegedly been doing.
A week after the allegations surfaced, and after celebrating his 40th birthday with a virtual concert, D’banj spoke out.
In his Instagram post which has now been deleted from his page (why?), D’banj wrote that the rape allegations are a slap to his marriage, his wife, and his entire family who believe in him. He also wrote that he did not want to dignify the slurs with a response.
He explained that the accusations had reopened the painful scars of the deep loss he feels over his late son.
Also important is that he stated in this response that the case has been handed over to his legal team (Mike Ozekhome’s Chambers) and the Nigerian Police to investigate the criminal aspect of the accusation.
While it is okay for an accused person to rely on the justice system to resolve a situation, it is not okay to abuse your power and resort to underhanded tricks to take advantage of the justice system.
According to reports that surfaced yesterday on social media, Seyitan, who brought the allegations against D’banj, was arrested and denied access to friends, family, and legal representation. That is not okay.
There was a lot of outcry on social media with several activists demanding her release. And she was reportedly released from police custody after her illegal detention. Unfortunately, there are several reports that she was not released to go home but into the hands of D’banj’s management team where she was being intimidated to recant her allegations.
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