Gospel singer Nathaniel Bassey has petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, over allegations that he fathered his colleague Mercy Chinwo’s son.
The singer, in a petition filed by his lawyers, Peter Abraham, Uche Matthew, Gbenga Agunloye, and Anthony Abia, asked the IGP to investigate and prosecute four social media users—Okoronkwo Ejike, Kingsley Ibeh, Terrence Ekot, and DJ Spoiltkid who accused him of paternal fraud.
The four suspects alleged that Bassey was the biological father of Mercy’s six-month-old son. They made the allegations on their social media accounts when Mercy and her husband, Blessed Uzochikwa, unveiled their son’s identity on social media on 29 March.
Mr Ejike’s post read, “This Mercy Chinwo’s child she was hiding after giving birth, but the truth is that this baby looks exactly like singer Nathaniel Bassey. Nothing anybody wants to reason with me oh. This child is Nathaniel Bassey’s Baby. Maybe a secret away match occurred; otherwise, how can we make empirical sense of this.”
The petition submitted to the IGP on 1 April read in parts: “ On Friday, the 29th day of March 2024, Mercy Chinwo Blessed another popular gospel music minister, and her husband posted pictures of their son and themselves on different social media platforms.
“However, our client was disheartened, saddened, and grossly disturbed to find that the suspects mentioned above, as mischief makers with a criminal intent to destroy the image and character of our client, had made different social media posts of defamatory matter, calling our client ‘the father of minister Mercy Chinwo Blessed’s son,’ a woman who is married to another man.”
The lawyers stated that the social media posts by the four individuals constituted a thorough character assassination of Mr Bassey.
They noted that these actions violated Sections 373 and 375 of the Criminal Code Act, as well as Section 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.).
“The post by Mr Okoronkwo Ejike has since gone viral on the platform. In reaction to the post, Mr Kingsley Ibeh commented on Mr Okoronkwo’s post with a picture of our client with the caption “The real father of the baby.”
“In a post on the platform “X” formerly known as Twitter, ‘Dj SpoiltKid’ a verified X user, quoted the statement by Okoronkwo Ejike along with a screenshot of the post and added, “When are we doing DNA test?”
“In another post, Mr Terrence Ekot, on the platform “X”, made a post thus: “Take a look at the stunning resemblance of Mercy Chinwo’s son and Nathaniel Bassey. Though the duo has been working together on several projects, what do you have to say?” (sic).
“These nefarious acts of these suspects, if not immediately dealt with, will continue to destroy our client’s image, injure his reputation, assassinate his character, and cast aspersion on the good name built by our client over the years.
“The consequences of making such statements on social media have been known to tarnish the reputations of individuals, render marriages unstable, and many never recover from them. International reputation is an asset—both for the individual and the nation—and takes time to acquire.
“Consequently, we urge you to use your good offices to, in the interest of justice, investigate this matter, arrest, and bring the suspect to justice, which will serve as a deterrent to others.”
Ugochi Olivia Ubah is an Educator and a Writer
