Sophia Momodu, the mother of Davido’s daughter Imade, has asked a Lagos State High Court not to grant the musician custody of their child.
Momodu made these claims during a court hearing on Friday, presenting a counter-affidavit against Davido’s suit for custody.
Momodu argued that Davido, whose real name is David Adedeji Adeleke, is unfit to care for their daughter due to his history of neglect and inappropriate behavior. She claimed that during their past relationship, Davido used visits to their daughter as an opportunity for sexual advances and only showed up for media stunts.
In her statement, Momodu said, “Davido 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.”
She described how Davido’s visits were often timed to demand sex rather than to care for their daughter.
Momodu continued, “The applicant has always been known to go away and stop communicating with our daughter whenever I refused his sexual advances.”
She also recounted an incident from 2017, saying, “Davido once threw me and our daughter out of his home in Atlanta during a summer holiday, forcing us to stay with a friend.”
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According to Momodu, Davido’s commitment to their daughter has been inconsistent.
She stated, “I have never stopped the applicant or his family members from visiting, calling, or reconnecting with our daughter.”
Instead, she claimed, it was Davido who chose to be an absent father.
Momodu also accused Davido of failing to meet financial obligations. She noted that Davido did not pay Imade’s school fees for 2021 and 2022, leading to a notification from the school in January 2023.
“The school wrote to me about unpaid tuition fees, which was only resolved when Davido’s father intervened and paid the outstanding amounts,” Momodu said.
She also rejected Davido’s claims that he contributed to their housing costs. “Contrary to Davido’s claims, I have been responsible for paying the rent for our apartment where I live with our daughter,” she stated.
During Friday’s court session, Momodu was represented by Chief Anthony Idigbe, SAN, from Punuka Attorneys & Solicitors. Idigbe argued that Davido’s legal team improperly published the child’s name in a national newspaper, violating the Child’s Rights Law of Lagos State 2015.
Idigbe pointed out, “Section 143 of the Child’s Rights Law stipulates that the name of a child involved in court proceedings should not be published.”
He also referred to Sections 144 and 145, which protect the privacy and best interests of the child during legal proceedings.
Justice A. J. Bashua agreed that the publication was improper and ordered that the press, along with others not directly involved in the case, leave the courtroom for the duration of the hearing.
At the end of the proceedings, the court referred the case to the Alternative Dispute Resolution section for a possible settlement during Settlement Week.
Momodu’s legal team will continue to argue that Davido is unfit for custody, while Davido seeks to gain more time with his daughter. As the case proceeds, both sides will work through the court’s resolution process to address the custody dispute.