Dr. Deji Adeleke, father of Afrobeats star David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has said DNA tests conducted at multiple hospitals cleared his son of paternity claims.
He stated that the tests confirmed Davido is not the biological father of a girl, Aanu, who has been at the centre of a long-running dispute.
Adeleke disclosed this while addressing journalists at his Lagos residence on Wednesday, explaining that scientific evidence had conclusively ruled out Davido’s paternity.
According to the billionaire businessman and philanthropist, he first became aware of the matter in 2014 after receiving a letter from a lawyer in Ibadan, alleging that Davido had impregnated a woman, Ayo Labinjoh, and abandoned the child.
Adeleke, who said he has 14 grandchildren, stressed that while he welcomes more grandchildren, science must determine paternity.
“I have 14 grandchildren, so what will one more do? Is it that I will not be able to afford to do things for her or bring her into my family? I want more grandchildren, but there is science — DNA. If you say you are my granddaughter and science has proven that you are my granddaughter, I would gladly accept you,” he said.
He said the lawyer’s letter included photographs of the child, Davido and the mother, as well as a copy of the child’s birth certificate, which raised questions.
“And in that mail also, curiously, there was a birth certificate of the child.
And what caught my attention was that in the record of the birth certificate, it said the full name of the father: Adeleke David, the full name of the mother: Adeleke Ayotomide. How can she be Adeleke?” he asked.
Adeleke revealed that three DNA tests were conducted for Davido. Two returned negative results, while the third sample was declared contaminated. To eliminate the possibility of mistaken identity with Davido’s cousin, Adebayo Adeleke (B-Red), two DNA tests were also conducted on him, both of which were negative.
Narrating how the tests were arranged, Adeleke said he contacted Labinjoh directly and assured her of his willingness to accept the child if paternity was proven.
“Immediately I saw this letter, even before calling David, I called this woman and said, ‘Look, I’m not speaking to my son yet, but I’m going to speak to him… If this girl is my granddaughter, you have no problems with me; I’ll welcome her into my family happily,’” he said.
He added that his driver transported the mother, the grandmother and the child from Ibadan to Vedic Hospital in Lagos, where samples were taken in the presence of Davido and his aide, Lati.
Clarifying the testing process, Adeleke said saliva samples — not blood — were collected and sent to South Africa for analysis.
“So we were all in the same room, and he (the doctor) told us the procedure… It was not done by blood. It was from their saliva… The grandmother of the baby and I signed that both of us would be the ones to receive the result,” he said.
He said the results were unequivocal.
“When the result came, there was 0.00 possibility that Davido was the girl’s father. Another test, he said, also turned negative.”
Despite the negative DNA results, Adeleke said he financially supported the education of both the girl and her mother, following appeals from the family. He noted that while the mother later discontinued her university studies, the girl completed her primary education.
The controversy resurfaced on January 15, 2025, when an Instagram account reportedly managed by Labinjoh appealed to Davido, claiming the child was facing bullying and ridicule at school and calling for a DNA test.
Davido responded on X (formerly Twitter), insisting that multiple DNA tests had already returned negative results.
Labinjoh later countered by sharing alleged private messages between Davido and the child.
Meanwhile, Adeleke claimed that a sister of the girl informed him that the social media accounts accusing Davido of abandonment were allegedly opened and operated by a media personality without the family’s consent.