Unreleased ‘Come My Way’ collaboration sparks a bitter exchange, with legal experts warning against assuming every intimate-image repost amounts to revenge porn
Nigerian Afrobeats stars David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, and Wande Coal have become embroiled in a bitter public dispute over an unreleased collaboration, with their disagreement escalating on social media after Davido reposted alleged intimate photographs linked to an old controversy involving the veteran singer.
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The Davido Wande Coal feud, which intensified this week, began with competing accounts of what happened to a version of Wande Coal’s 2021 song, Come My Way, on which Davido had recorded a verse.
The disagreement resurfaced after Davido discussed the shelved collaboration during an appearance on the Uncut podcast.
He said Wande Coal had approached him to contribute to the song and that he subsequently recorded what he regarded as a strong verse.
According to Davido, the relationship became strained when Wande Coal planned to release the original song before putting out a remix containing Davido’s contribution. Davido said he was unwilling to have his verse treated as a later addition.
Wande Coal disputed that account, arguing that Come My Way already had a release plan and date before Davido became involved.
“Carry song come give you as how? Song wey been get release plan and date!!! Song wey no be your own you wan dictate release plan,” Wande Coal wrote on X. He added that the song had performed well without Davido’s contribution.
Davido responded with the remark, “No vex Mr Little,” which shifted the disagreement from the music business into more personal territory.
Wande Coal subsequently fired back with another insult directed at Davido, and the exchange quickly drew thousands of reactions from fans and other social media users.
The dispute took a more sensitive turn after Davido reposted alleged nude photographs associated with a 2010 controversy involving Wande Coal. At the time, Wande Coal and former Mo’Hits boss Don Jazzy said the images had been digitally manipulated and were not genuine photographs of the singer.
The resurfacing and reposting of the material prompted some social media users to accuse Davido of engaging in revenge porn, while others questioned whether the incident should be characterised in those terms without establishing the circumstances surrounding the original images and their subsequent publication.
That distinction is important under Nigerian law.
Legal expert Oluwatodimu Ige, popularly known as Oga_thelawyer, told Saturday Beats that the circumstances surrounding an alleged repost could potentially create legal exposure, particularly if the material was transmitted with an intention to harass, intimidate, insult or cause distress.
“The fact that the repost occurred during a public quarrel, particularly where the surrounding circumstances suggest an intention to embarrass, insult, harass, intimidate or cause distress, makes the conduct legally more serious,” Ige said.
He pointed to Section 24 of Nigeria’s Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, as amended in 2024, while cautioning against automatically describing every publication of an intimate photograph as revenge porn.
The 2024 amendment narrowed Section 24, including provisions concerning the transmission of pornographic material and certain knowingly false communications.
“I would avoid saying categorically that every repost of a nude photograph automatically constitutes ‘revenge porn’ under Section 24,” Ige said.
He explained that a prosecution would still have to establish the specific elements of whatever offence was alleged, noting that Nigerian legislation does not expressly use the term “revenge porn” in the way it is commonly used online.
The legal question could also extend beyond the Cybercrimes Act to privacy and data protection considerations.
Ige said that the fact that an intimate photograph had previously appeared online did not automatically mean that the person depicted had given unlimited consent for it to be republished in another context.
“If an adult voluntarily sends an intimate photograph to another person, that does not necessarily mean that the recipient has been given an unrestricted licence to publish it to thousands or millions of people,” he said.
The Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 establishes a broader framework governing the lawful processing and use of personal data, making the circumstances and purpose of subsequent dissemination potentially relevant.
Ige nevertheless noted that previous public availability of an image could be relevant when assessing a person’s reasonable expectation of privacy, the circumstances of the original publication and whether the subsequent use represented a substantially different purpose.
The controversy has also revived an old social media exchange between the two singers.
After Davido claimed that Wande Coal had recently sought his telephone number through a mutual contact, he shared what appeared to be a WhatsApp screenshot dated July 22 showing a request for his number.
Social media users subsequently resurfaced a 2011 post in which Davido himself had publicly asked Wande Coal to contact him, adding another layer to the increasingly personal dispute.
At its heart, however, the disagreement remains rooted in a collaboration that never reached an official release.
Come My Way was released by Wande Coal in 2021 and achieved success without Davido’s contribution.
The shelved version featuring Davido has nevertheless remained a point of curiosity among fans, particularly those who had encountered snippets of the unreleased recording.
The latest confrontation has therefore transformed what had been a largely private disagreement over release arrangements into a highly visible celebrity feud, drawing renewed attention to creative ownership, collaboration agreements and the boundaries of online conduct.
Neither singer had publicly indicated that the dispute had been resolved as of the latest reports.
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For now, the episode offers a striking reminder of how quickly disagreements within Nigeria’s music industry can move from studio discussions to a public and potentially consequential social media confrontation.
Quadri Olaitan is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, public affairs, and human-interest stories.
