Davido Recounts How Nigerian Security Agencies Were Deployed After He Fled Home To Pursue Music
International Afrobeats singer David Adeleke, better known as Davido, recently revealed a dramatic episode from his youth when Nigerian security forces were deployed to track him down after he ran away to pursue his music career.
On the American podcast
Bagfuel Brigade, Davido recounted how he secretly built a recording studio inside his billionaire father Dr. Deji Adeleke’s massive 16-bedroom home. Living alone there—after losing his mother and with siblings abroad—he spent his days immersed in music. “I had a full studio in the house, and my dad had no idea,” he said. “I would just make music and smoke there.”
Eventually growing weary of keeping his passion hidden, Davido fled to London, staying for six months with a producer friend. His disappearance sparked panic back home, prompting his family to enlist the army, police, and immigration officials in a search mission.
Recounting his capture, he said, “I wasn’t planning to return home. At the airport, as I was heading to a friend’s place, an army officer stopped me. Suddenly, I was surrounded by uniformed men, and there was my dad waiting.”
Expecting anger or punishment, Davido was instead met with an unexpected embrace. “He didn’t scold me — he was just glad to see me,” he recalled.
Today, Davido stands as one of the most influential African artists worldwide, a powerful symbol of the passion and determination that once nearly cost him everything.