A Nigerian law firm, DACO LP Africa, has urged Nigerians to allow South African Grammy-winning singer, Tyla, to perform in Lagos despite calls for a boycott of her December concert over xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in South Africa.
Tyla is scheduled to bring her A*POP World Tour to Lagos on December 22, 2026.
The proposed concert has generated anger in some quarters, with calls for a boycott linked to attacks against Nigerians and other African migrants in South Africa.
However, in a public statement signed by its Managing Partner, Damilare Adenola, DACO LP Africa argued that directing the anger at Tyla amounted to holding an individual responsible for the actions or failures of her government.
The firm said the concerns over xenophobic attacks were legitimate but maintained that accountability should be directed at the governments with the authority to address the problem.
“Let the artist perform. Hold the governments accountable,” the statement, made available to Third Lens on Thursday, was titled.
According to the firm, both Nigeria and South Africa are parties to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which guarantees rights including freedom of expression and information as well as the right to work under equitable conditions.
It argued that Tyla, as a private citizen, had the right to perform and earn a livelihood from her art, adding that such rights should not be conditional on her publicly condemning actions allegedly committed by her government.
“No principle of law—domestic or international—establishes that a private citizen must issue a public statement condemning state violence as a precondition for exercising her economic rights,” the firm said.
It added that holding Tyla responsible for xenophobic attacks she did not commit, endorse or encourage would amount to “collective guilt.”
The law firm, however, said its position would change if credible evidence emerged showing that the singer had personally participated in, endorsed or profited from violence against Nigerians or other Africans.
“Accountability must follow evidence. In its absence, we have collective punishment—and collective punishment is not justice,” it said.
DACO LP Africa also framed Tyla’s proposed Lagos performance as an example of the continental integration it said Africa needs.
It argued that the African Continental Free Trade Area was not merely a trade arrangement but part of a broader vision of greater movement of people, talent and commerce across African borders.
“A South African artist performing in Lagos is not a provocation. It is continental integration in practice,” the firm said.
It noted that Nigerian artistes including Burna Boy, Wizkid, Davido and Asake perform across South Africa and other parts of the continent, arguing that Nigeria could not demand an open market for its own creative industry while denying similar access to artistes from other African countries.
The firm said the anger over xenophobic attacks should instead be directed at the South African and Nigerian governments.
It accused the South African government of failing to adequately protect Nigerian and other African migrants living lawfully in the country, calling for prosecution of perpetrators, police reforms and stronger political action against xenophobic violence.
It also said the Nigerian government had a duty to protect Nigerians abroad through diplomatic engagement, bilateral protection mechanisms and, where necessary, action through regional and continental institutions.
“The absence of meaningful governmental response to documented attacks on Nigerians in South Africa is a failure of statecraft that deserves sustained public pressure,” it said.
The firm further suggested that Tyla and her management could voluntarily acknowledge the concerns of Nigerians as a gesture of African solidarity, but stressed that such an acknowledgement should not be imposed as a condition for her performance.
DACO LP Africa concluded by urging Nigerians to allow the singer to perform in Lagos while directing their demands for accountability towards the governments responsible for protecting citizens and migrants.
“Let Tyla perform in Lagos on 22 December 2026. And while she performs, let Nigerians direct their legitimate anger at the governments—Nigerian and South African alike—that hold the power to stop these deaths,” the firm said.
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