Xenophobia: ‘Hold govt accountable,’ law firm backs Tyla’s Nigeria tour

A legal firm, DACO LP Africa, has urged Nigerians not to boycott South African Grammy-winning artiste Tyla’s planned Lagos concert over xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in South Africa.

The firm said while the anger over attacks and deaths of Nigerians in South Africa was legitimate, directing it at Tyla was misplaced, insisting that governments responsible for protecting citizens should be held accountable.

Tyla is scheduled to perform in Lagos on December 22, 2026, as part of her A*POP World Tour.

In a statement signed by its Managing Partner, Damilare Adenola, DACO LP Africa said the artiste had the right to perform and earn a living from her craft, adding that an individual should not be held responsible for the actions of a government merely because of shared nationality.

The statement read, “Rights are not conditional on silence. Both Nigeria and South Africa are state parties to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Banjul Charter). Article 9 guarantees freedom of expression and information. Article 15 guarantees the right to work under equitable conditions.

“Tyla, as an individual, has the right to perform, earn a livelihood from her art, and engage commercially across Africa. Those rights do not cease because her government has failed to protect foreign nationals within its borders.”

Adenola argued that no legal principle required private citizens to publicly condemn government actions before exercising their economic rights.

He added, “A person is not culpable for the acts of her government simply by virtue of sharing a nationality. To hold Tyla responsible for xenophobic violence she did not commit, endorse, or encourage is to apply collective guilt.”

DACO LP Africa said accountability should only follow evidence, noting that its position would change if proof emerged that Tyla personally participated in, endorsed or benefited from attacks against Nigerians or other Africans.

The firm also described the concert as an example of African integration, arguing that cultural exchanges across borders should not be undermined by government failures.

“A South African artist performing in Lagos is not a provocation. It is continental integration in practice. It is the African creative economy doing what governments have consistently failed to do: binding this continent together through culture,” the statement added.

It noted that Nigerian artistes including Burna Boy, Wizkid, Davido and Asake regularly perform across South Africa and other African countries, arguing that the same access should be extended to artistes from other countries.

The legal practitioners called on the South African Government to address xenophobic attacks against Nigerians and other African migrants, while urging the Nigerian Government to strengthen diplomatic efforts to protect citizens abroad.

“The South African Government must be held to account for its repeated failure to protect Nigerian and other African migrants living lawfully within its borders.

“The Nigerian Government has a sovereign duty to protect its citizens abroad through rigorous diplomatic engagement, bilateral protection frameworks, and formal consequences at the level of the African Union and ECOWAS where diplomacy fails,” the statement read.

DACO LP Africa added that Tyla and her management could voluntarily acknowledge the concerns of Nigerians as part of promoting African solidarity, but said such recognition should not be a condition for her performance.

“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 statement concluded.