From a relatively unknown UK-based artiste, Dapo Daniel Oyebanjo aka D’Banj has become one of the biggest musicians in Africa over the last decade.
Widely known as the Kokomaster, D’banj has several local and international awards and endorsement deals to his name today.
However, the pop star seems to be going through an unpleasant period in his career as some people who claim to be owed by D’banj are threatening a legal action against him.
According to NET investigations, the issuance of dud cheques and non-payment of accrued debts top the list of infractions against the DB Records boss who now calls himself Bangalee.
As things stand, D’banj may be dragged to court by a top oil and gas industry player, Henry Ojogho, Vice Chairman of Broron Group. Ojogho, who is also the Vice Chairman of MindHub Tehnologies, an integrated rice farming and milling Production Company.
He alleges that D’banj, through his company, DKM Media Limited, obtained a loan of over N60m from him in January 2013 and has not paid back the said sum despite signing an undertaking to do so.
In addition, the man is claiming that the entertainer has issued two cheques already; one on December 20, 2013 and another on January 20, 2014, both of which had to be returned unpaid after presentation because the pop star’ accounts were not funded enough.
Further investigations by NET revealed that Henry Ojogho is not the only wealthy man claiming D’banj owes him in recent times. There are a number of others, according to our sources.
Other people D’banj allegedly owes
It is alleged that D’banj approached a number of very wealthy people with business proposals, urging them to invest in the industry and set up entertainment companies.
With the promise of developing artistes and huge returns on investments, the businessmen became interested only for him to collect their money and move on to the next target with the same ‘format’.
Below is a list of a number of names he allegedly owes according to sources.
Walter Wagbatsoma (£200,000)
Walter is a billionaire with investments in major areas, ranging from oil and gas to real estate, banking, equities and even insurance.
He is also the founder and executive Vice Chairman of Ontario Oil and he’s one of the first men who were said to have handed money to D’banj, with a whopping sum of £200,000 said to be involved.
PRINCE D. OKONKWO ($200,000)
He’s the chairman, Board of Directors of Tetrazini Group of Companies and he is said to have given about $200,000 to D’banj in the name of investing in entertainment.
When the issue with Prince Okonkwo got out of hand, D’banj was said to have sought help from Dapo Abiodun, boss of Heyden Oil and Gas who helped him take care of the debt through a repayment plan.
Is D’banj broke?
D’banj’s last real album, a ground-breaking body of works titled The Entertainer was released in September 2008, before he released the DKM compilation in June 2013.
It’s safe therefore to say D’banj hasn’t released an album in the last six years, yet he has managed to stay very relevant in the industry, which is largely due to his staying power and tenacity.
Since 2014, he has been part of several campaigns in agriculture, poverty alleviation, economy, and recently became the first African Ambassador for BeatsByDre having signed a deal with tech giants, Apple.
He is also putting finishing touches to plans to drop an album in celebration of his 10th year anniversary in the music industry.
Having said that, it’s evident that while he has not headlined any major show in the last six months, D’banj has other multiple streams of income.
However, it is amazing that despite D’banj’s remarkable success and many endorsement deals over the years, he has no building or house of his own.
The place he currently calls home, a building on Osaro Isopkai Street in Lekki is a rented apartment. As a matter of fact, investigations revealed his current rent in the said apartment will expire this month.
D’banj returned to the country last Wednesday, November 12, 2014 after spending about three months in the United States of America.
And now that he is back, a court case bearing his name might come up for hearing soon except he is able to settle or pacify those who are reportedly waiting to swoop on him.
Credit: NET/STARRTFMONLINE
