Some children of the legendary juju musician, Sunday Adegeye, aka King Sunny Ade, are currently at loggerheads over his well-being and whereabouts.

A daughter of the singer and guitarist, Damilola Esther, took to social media to accuse her step-brother, Dayo, of holding their father hostage, and also booking him for events without honouring the engagements.

In a series of social media posts, she also called for her brother, who she referred to as his manager, to be apprehended for “stealing” from KSA.

One of the posts read, “Dad told my brother that he wants to go home. Where is he? Where are his phones? He has not been online or picking his calls. Where is he?” 

Another one read, “I want Dayo (manager) apprehended. I want him to provide all the money they have been stealing from him. He has a UK visa, thinking he can run.”

However, in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, Dayo said their father was hale and hearty.

He maintained that he was not the father’s “official manager” but was only helping out his dad in that regard.

He said, “The allegation is false. On Saturday (April 26, 2025), my dad performed at the 60th birthday party of a fan. The event took place at 16 Musa Yar’Adua Street, Victoria Island, Lagos. He still had rehearsals with members of his band last week. He will perform in Akure (Ondo State capital) on May 1.

“She (Damilola) is not in the right frame of mind for her to have made those posts. On Easter Sunday, she called me and said she wanted to speak with dad, because she doesn’t live in Nigeria. I gave the phone to my dad, and they spoke for about 30 minutes. I then told her that if she wanted to see him, she could come to Nigeria.

“The moment she started making nasty comments about dad, she crossed the line. You cannot speak ill of my father and expect me to still reckon with you, no matter who you are. Even my mother wouldn’t do that. Why would you (Damilola) go on social media and call daddy names?”

Dayo also stated that KSA would release a statement to clear the air and put things in perspective.

 “Kindly ignore all she has said. KSA will release a statement on social media within 24 hours.  And if you are free, you can join him in Akure for his performance on May 1. He will be glad to have an interaction with you, and answer questions on what you have heard on social media about him,” he said.

Clarifying that he was not KSA’s manager but was only “helping out” in the absence of one, Dayo told our correspondent, “I am not an official manager. I just assist my father. I have my businesses. As I explained to her (Damilola), I don’t have any employment letter, and I am not on the payroll.

“I am just helping my dad, like the Scripture commands. This arrangement was not even planned but was necessitated by some developments. He (KSA) asked me to help him handle certain things, pending the time he gets someone in that position. And, he feels extremely comfortable with what I have been doing, and he said I should continue doing it.

“This is like paying him back for all the things he has done for me. One of the things he loves the most is going on stage to perform, and that is what he has been doing for the past 59 years. We cannot just ask him to stop doing that.”

Another son of the iconic musician, David, asserted that Damilola was making things up.

In a separate interview with our correspondent, he said, “As I’m speaking with you, daddy is fine. He is not working under duress. He just finished an event. I can tell you with proof and evidences that he is fine.”

David also noted that he was ready to volunteer more information to prove that their daddy was fine, and there was no cause for alarm.

However, a respected journalist, Olawale Olaleye, claimed that KSA was no longer accessible to people who used to be in contact with him.

In a social media post, he noted that Damilola reached out to him with the claim that something sinister was going on with her dad, and that he was not reachable.

He stated that another associate reached out to him and asked for his help in getting across to KSA to book him for an event.

According to Olaleye, he tried different means of getting across to KSA but all were to no avail.

He added, “Curiously, everyone who could reach KSA at a dial could not anymore. And at that point, I gave up and continued with my life of hustling…”