Nigerian singer, D’banj has settled with Seyitan Babatayo who accused him of raping her in 2018.
In the latest development on the case, Stand To End Rape (S.T.E.R) a non-profit geared towards helping rape victims, who were involved in the case have released a statement that revealed that D’banj and Seyitan reached a ‘non-monetary settlement’. On 13th of July 2020, Ms Babatayo informed STER that a non-monetary agreement was reached with D’banj’s team, part of the statement read.
In the statement, STER said they refused to be involved in talks over a settlement as it goes against the organization’s policy. Such settlements, in our experience, often involve an asymmetry of power between the accused and the victim. More importantly, while private settlements are usual in civil disputes, they are, however, not applicable to criminal cases, particularly where a felony has been alleged to have been committed, only the State has the authority to discontinue a criminal investigation and prosecution.
In their response, Seyi’s legal representative, Olamide Omileye of Ojoge, Omileye, and partners told Premium Times that the only agreement reached was that “both parties are going to stand down on media trials and allow the law to take its course.”
He said both parties have agreed to desist from making any post or leaking any information to the public and allow the police to carry out their investigation. “The police are still doing their investigation. Last week, Seyitan was in Abuja, D`banj was also in Abuja. They met the ACP and the woman did her part of the investigation,
