Quaham Babatunde’s friends paid tribute to him (Image: DublinLive)
Quaham Babatunde, the 34-year-old Nigerian asylum seeker who was fatally stabbed in Dublin, had previously faced rape charges in Italy, according to his friends. Babatunde lost his life after being stabbed in the chest on South Anne Street in the early hours of Saturday morning.
It has now emerged that he had been accused of rape while living in Italy in April 2018 and was reportedly facing deportation. A friend of Babatunde’s shared a recent photo of him with DublinLive and confirmed the truth of the Italian reports regarding the rape accusation.
However, the friend also stated that Babatunde had always maintained his innocence, a claim they believed.
Local reports suggest that Babatunde was once a promising footballer for Nigeria’s national team. However, his career took a turn when he was accused of raping a young woman on January 22, 2018.
He was subsequently charged and remanded in custody before being deported. Reports indicate that Babatunde was arrested in April following a three-month manhunt, and was later released from custody.
The allegations against him claimed that he met a 22-year-old woman in a club, and they later shared a taxi ride. Babatunde allegedly suggested they stop at his house for a drink, where he is reported to have raped the woman while she was asleep.
The woman reported the incident to the police the next day, identifying Babatunde by his tattoos, which ultimately led to his arrest. Despite denying the allegations during his court hearing and insisting that their relationship was consensual, the then 29-year-old footballer couldn’t escape the charges.
Reports suggest that he had a career in Italy’s Primavera of Reggiana, travelling extensively across the country. He also had stints with Monselice and represented Nigeria’s under-20 team in 2009.
Babatunde was apprehended in an apartment in Mezzavia, the same location where he was accused of committing the crime earlier in January. In September 2019, Babatunde, also known as Mike Obumbo or ‘Baba’, was stopped in Reggio during a routine police check while he was out on bail for the rape case.
It was discovered that he didn’t possess a valid licence, and his driver was suspected of having a counterfeit one.
Further investigations revealed that Babatunde had applied for a residence permit, but his application was denied. Consequently, a complaint was lodged against him for being an illegal immigrant, leading to his impending deportation back to Nigeria.
The 2019 report reveals that Babatunde had a criminal history, including charges for brawling and rape. When questioned about this, the garda press office responded: “Any queries in relation to persons part of the International Protection Process are a matter for the International Protection Office. Any information on any person that may or may not exist in a 3rd country are a matter for the authorities in that country.”
The International Protection Office did not respond when approached for comment.
Friends of Babatunde have come forward to defend him, suggesting he was simply “in the wrong place at the wrong time” during a dispute over seating arrangements at a table. They expressed their shock, claiming that Mr Babatunde only arrived at the club at 1am and was not involved in the initial altercation between two groups, which bizarrely began over seating positions within the venue.
“He was at the wrong place at the wrong time,” one friend stated. “He wasn’t initially out when the two groups had a falling out. He only arrived to the venue for 1am and was stabbed at 3am.”
They further explained the circumstances leading up to the incident: “The event happening in the club, there was a row over people not being allowed to sit at people’s tables and because they didn’t let them sit with them it turned out to be a bigger issue than what it was supposed to be,” they claimed. “He wasn’t even there when it happened.”
The disagreement over seating led to a horrifying scene with a masked individual brandishing a sizeable blade in the midst of the street; distressing footage captured him aggressively attacking people. During this violent outburst, Mr Babatunde, whom gardai view as an innocent party caught up in the dispute, suffered a lethal stab wound to the chest.
Another individual incurred injuries from the stabbing but they were not fatal. A friend speaking to The Irish Mirror paid tribute to Mr Babatunde, who although having previously resided in Italy and lacking family ties in his current location, was regarded as magnanimous by local acquaintances.
“He was very caring and always stopped a fight,” the friend remarked. “As you can see in the video he didn’t expect what happened to happen. He took care of everyone he encountered. People referred to him as Big Bro.”
The slain man had aspirations for a security role, having already completed the relevant examination. His friend added: “He wanted to do a security job here and he did the exam for it. He was building his life here and it was taken.”
This tragic development coincides with substantial arrests by both gardai and the PSNI in relation to the murder inquiry.
A prime suspect was taken into custody by the PSNI in Belfast on Monday while attempting to board a ferry destined for Liverpool. Gardai had alerted the PSNI, concerned that the individual might be trying to escape their reach.
Additionally, another person of interest was apprehended by Gardai in the Dublin locale and was held at Pearse Street Garda station for interrogation. Later, a third suspect voluntarily surrendered to Gardai in Dublin.
The suspect in Belfast, currently under arrest, was previously out on bail for an alleged knife possession offence. Meanwhile, the first suspect apprehended in Dublin had been on bail for drug-related charges and an improvised firearm offence.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) confirmed the arrest of a 23-year-old man in Belfast “on suspicion of murder.”
They stated: “The arrest was made in connection with a fatal assault in the South Anne Street/Duke Lane Upper area of Dublin in the early hours of Saturday 15th February, 2025. The man was detained under the Criminal Jurisdiction Act 1975 and remains in police custody at this time.”
The PSNI assured that they will continue to work closely with An Garda Síochána and will provide further updates as necessary. They urged anyone with information to contact Pearse Street Garda Station or the Garda Confidential line.
The victim, Mr Babatunde, originally from Nigeria, was stabbed by a masked man after an apparent dispute between two groups following an Afroswing gig at Twenty Two. Another man involved in the horrifying 3am incident was hospitalised with non-life-threatening stab wounds.
Ballyogan IPAS accommodation centre management informed residents that Mr Babatunde was among the first IPAS residents accommodated there.