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Summary
BBNaija star Phyna has called out Davido’s aide, Israel DMW, for harassment over her friendship with his ex-wife, Sheila Courage. The incident has sparked public concern for Sheila’s safety and a pattern of defamation and controlling behaviour from Israel.
Reality TV star and BBNaija winner, Phyna, has called out Davido’s logistics manager, Israel Afeare, popularly known as Israel DMW, following tensions surrounding her friendship with his estranged wife, Sheila Courage.
The issue began after Phyna and Sheila shared photos from a vacation in Mauritius. Israel and Sheila Courage were married in 2022, but the union ended less than a year later in 2023. Following Phyna’s IG post, Israel sent a WhatsApp message to the reality TV star, attempting to cajole her into ending her friendship with his ex-wife.
In the message to Phyna, Israel wrote: “She left a marriage of less than six months, straight to abuja hook up,” he said. “Na the one wey divorce leave her marriage of no violence, you kom prefer?” He added, “Any man wey sleep with her or take her as a wife will die.”
Phyna later released the message on Twitter, which contained several defamatory and threatening statements against Sheila, her mother, and her possible future partners.
However, Phyna did not delete her picture with Sheila, which indicated that she maintained her friendship. Thus, Israel sent her a follow-up message calling her a “bastard,” saying “Oya-gbehe” meaning “problem will kill you.” He further blocked Phyna on social media and sent her a screenshot of it.
Since his divorce from Sheila, Israel has publicly made derogatory remarks about his ex-wife. Also, people have reported a pattern of Israel warning celebrities such as Mercy Aigbe to avoid associating with her. AbimbolaJae reported that Israel once messaged her to discourage her from inviting Sheila to her wedding or associating with her.
Nigerians have raised serious concerns about Sheila’s safety in light of Israel’s recent behaviour. X user @MissEvaBee wrote,
“If Israel had a gun, he would shoot Sheila without blinking, and people are more concerned about numbers; that man is sick in the head.”
Another user, @eyitayo_akanke, added:
“I just prayed for Sheila. May God protect her from this man. Do you know what it means to marry someone and realise in six months that you made a mistake?”
Research has also shown that the most dangerous time for a woman is after they leaves an abusive partner. According to statistics, 77 per cent of domestic violence-related homicides occur during or after separation, and the risk of violence increases by 75 per cent for at least two years following the breakup.
Meanwhile, Phyna stands her ground to maintain friendship with whoever she pleases. She says in an Instagram live post directed to Israel,
“Shey na you go tell me who I go be friend with? Or na you woman go first leave?”
