A Nigerian law firm, DACO LP Africa, has cautioned against calls for a boycott of South African Grammy-winning singer Tyla's forthcoming Lagos concert, arguing that frustration over xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in South Africa should be directed at governments rather than individual entertainers.
The firm maintained that while the recurring attacks and killings of Nigerians in South Africa have understandably generated anger across the country, holding Tyla responsible simply because she is South African amounts to unfair collective blame.
Tyla is billed to perform in Lagos on December 22, 2026, as part of her APOP World Tour, but her planned appearance has sparked debates on social media, with some Nigerians questioning whether South African artistes should continue to enjoy patronage amid concerns over the treatment of Nigerians living in the country.
In a statement signed by its Managing Partner, Damilare Adenola, DACO LP Africa insisted that the singer has a fundamental right to perform and earn a living through her music, stressing that citizenship alone does not make an individual accountable for the failures or actions of a government.
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 further argued that neither international law nor any legal principle requires private citizens to publicly condemn their governments before they can exercise their economic or professional rights.
He said, “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 legal firm noted that accountability should only arise where there is credible evidence of personal involvement, adding that its position would be different if it were established that Tyla had participated in, supported, encouraged or benefited from attacks against Nigerians or other African nationals.
Beyond the legal argument, DACO LP Africa described Tyla's planned performance as a symbol of African unity, saying cultural and creative exchanges across the continent should not become casualties of diplomatic or governmental failures.
According to the statement, “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 firm also pointed out that several Nigerian music stars, including Burna Boy, Wizkid, Davido and Asake, regularly perform in South Africa and other African countries without restrictions, arguing that artistes from other nations deserve the same opportunity to engage audiences across the continent.
While defending Tyla's right to perform, DACO LP Africa urged the South African Government to take stronger measures to end xenophobic attacks against Nigerians and other African migrants residing legally within its borders.
At the same time, it called on the Nigerian Government to intensify diplomatic engagement with South Africa and strengthen bilateral protection mechanisms to safeguard Nigerians living abroad.
The statement added, “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.”
DACO LP Africa further stated that although Tyla and her management may choose to acknowledge the concerns of Nigerians as a gesture of solidarity, such a move should remain voluntary and not be made a prerequisite for her Lagos performance.
Concluding its position, the firm said, “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.”