D’banj Loses ‎₦45m Endorsement Deal over Rape Allegations

Nigerian entertainer D’banj takes the L as Heritage Bank has suspended his endorsement deal worth ₦45 million; following the rape allegations levelled against him and the resultant outrage on Twitter.

A few weeks ago, D’banj was accused of rape by Seyitan Babatope. The alleged crime took place in 2018. D’banj denied the allegations, but it did not quell the outrage on Twitter NG.

About a week ago, more and more Twitter users mounted pressure on Heritage Bank and his other sponsors to end their endorsements with him.

This was in addition to further claims made on Twitter, primarily by actress Dorcas Shola Fapson; that D’banj unlawfully arrested and intimidated Seyitan.

On Friday, the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu ordered for the arrest and probe of D’Banj. Fellow singer Banky W also publicly condemned him for allegedly intimidating the rape victim.

Following the silence of Heritage Bank on the matter, more people seeking social justice made petitions to all D’banj’s sponsors for days on end. They even went on to send emails to GLO and the UN to drop D’banj as their ambassador.

Eventually, all the effort led to not only D’banj losing his endorsement deal but the refusal of Zimbabwean actress Vimbai Mutinhiri to work on anything involving the singer; until he at least clears his name.

Check out Mutinhiri’s post below:

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. - Desmond Tutu. . . We have to allow the wheels of justice to turn, but until then we have to stand in alliance with the process of justice because we don’t know which one of us may need the credibility of that process to fight for us tomorrow. . . Thank you to this organization for choosing to let things play out.
 
A post shared by  Vimbai Mutinhiri - Ekpenyong (@the_vimbai) on Jun 19, 2020 at 6:23am PDT
 

With many apologists lamenting that losing the endorsement deal is too much, what do you think? Do you think any company should have someone with an increasingly bad reputation as their spokesperson?