All Progressives Congress (APC) praise singer Dauda Kahutu, popularly known as Dauda Kahutu Rarara, has criticised Afrobeats star Davido over his international campaign calling attention to the abduction of schoolchildren in Oyo State.
The comments followed Davido’s appearance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup Countdown Concert held at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, where he wore a custom black leather outfit featuring the names of more than 40 abducted schoolchildren and teachers. The jacket also carried the inscription “BRING THEM HOME” across the back, drawing wide attention during the event.
In a video posted Tuesday on his verified Facebook page, Rarara accused the singer of mishandling a sensitive security matter and placing it on a global stage.
“What Davido exhibited was a crude behaviour. How can you go and expose Nigeria’s secrets to the world? Why will he give publicity to insurgents?” he said.
He argued that such publicity could interfere with ongoing security operations aimed at securing the release of the abducted children.
“The insurgents kidnapped these students to force the security operatives to release their people, and our government is insisting on not releasing them while trying to free the children. At this critical stage, he went to expose our security issue globally during the World Cup,” he added.
Rarara also suggested that Davido’s action was politically driven, linking it to family ties in opposition politics in Osun State.
“Just because his uncle is vying for re-election in an opposition party and Tinubu is in the APC, he printed the names of the kidnapped students and went to showcase them in America. What he did was akin to derobing one’s mother and taking a picture and publicly announcing it in the marketplace,” he said.
He further warned that repeated global attention on kidnapping incidents could encourage criminal networks rather than deter them.
“When you have a huge following on social media and provide a platform for insurgent activities, it only makes things worse,” he said. “If a small kidnapper abducts someone and little attention is paid, once a content creator with thousands of followers repost it, bigger insurgents may become involved, making the situation worse.”
Rarara also referenced a personal experience involving the kidnapping of his mother, claiming that public commentary from political figures complicated negotiations at the time.
“I am a living witness because when my mother was kidnapped, it remained only a few days for her release to be secured when Atiku Abubakar publicly called for her release. Because of that, it took several more days before she was released. So his public statement led to more harm than good,” he said, referring to opposition leader Atiku Abubakar.
Defending the administration’s approach to security, Rarara said confidentiality remains essential in counter-insurgency operations under President Bola Tinubu.
“This administration has made massive strides in the fight against insurgency, but security efforts require secrecy. It is not every detail of their actions that can be shared publicly,” he said. “Some of us were privileged to learn about recent achievements during a courtesy visit to the National Assembly and the Office of the National Security Adviser.”
As of press time, Davido had not issued a response to the remarks.
