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

A Nigerian legal firm, DACO LP Africa, has urged Nigerians not to boycott South African artist Tyla's planned concert in Lagos, despite anger over xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in South Africa. The firm stated that while the anger is legitimate, directing it at Tyla is misplaced, arguing that governments, not individuals, should be held accountable for protecting citizens.

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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 is scheduled to perform in Lagos on December 22, 2026, as part of her A*POP World Tour. Damilare Adenola, Managing Partner of DACO LP Africa, asserted that the artist has the right to perform and earn a living from her craft. He emphasized that an individual should not be held responsible for the actions of a government simply due to shared nationality.

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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.

"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," the statement read. Adenola added that no legal principle requires private citizens to publicly condemn government actions before exercising their economic rights.

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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.

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. DACO LP Africa noted that Nigerian artists frequently perform in South Africa and other African countries, advocating for reciprocal access.

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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.