A basketball player and gaming content creator from Nigeria warned the public about someone claiming to be a “friend” of the late Atenean student-athlete Divine Adili.
Obinna Ezeike, a basketball player based in Manila, claimed that Solomon Obinna Okereke was “never a friend” of Divine, contrary to what Solomon was allegedly saying.
“On behalf of the Nigerian basketball community in the Philippines, I want to let the Filipino public know that this man (Solomon) was never a friend of late Divine Adili,” Obinna wrote on Facebook on Monday, June 29.
“He is a poser. We don’t know him or his motive and he has no connection with Adili’s family. I’m surprised he was able to go this far without even presenting a single evidence or photo showing himself and Divine together,” he added.
“While we are still busy in talk with Adili’s family and Ateneo asking to know what really happened to our friend Divine and demanding for justice, some people, in other hand, are busy pretending to care and selfishly using this opportunity to grab public spotlight to promote themselves or their social media audiences,” Obinna said.
He added that he has “been trying to ignore” the topic since he is “still in disbelief that Divine is really gone.”
“So I’m calling on the Filipino public to [tread] carefully, keep your eyes open and don’t fall a victim to fake people. Thanks,” Obinna said.
Solomon previously cautioned the public against individuals allegedly soliciting donations using Divine’s name through fake social media accounts.
“Please be informed that the GoFundMe account under the name ‘Adili Ifeoma Joy’ circulating online is fake. We have also stopped receiving donations through Prince Eze’s account,” he said in a Facebook post before.
Solomon has previously claimed to be Divine’s friend. He also attended the wake of Divine and student-athlete Rene Baterbonia to offer condolences.
Solomon has likewise been giving updates about Divine on his social media account. The student-athlete’s remains have been laid to rest in his hometown in Nigeria on June 26.
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Meanwhile, Solomon has responded to Obinna’s post, saying that he was only warning the public about potential scammers using Divine’s name.
“Sharing important public information isn’t clout, it’s responsibility. I’m simply using my platform to protect innocent people from scams. If exposing fraud helps even one person, it’s worth speaking up,” he said on Monday.
Solomon also explained that he was using his clout to “show people what happened, this is what’s going on.”
He added that he has likewise been “communicating with the family,” referring to the Adilis.
Solomon emphasized he was “protecting” the public from potential scammers following his post. He also said he did what he had done before, such as going to Divine’s wake, because he felt “pain.”
“That could be me. That could be you. So nobody’s happy. All that we are demanding is that… justice will prevail. And I’m using my platform to help everybody,” he said, adding that he does not want people to fall victim to financial scams at such a delicate time.
Divine was among the student-athletes who drowned during a team-building activity in Dipaculao, Aurora, on June 8, an activity initiated by Tab Baldwin, then the head coach of the Ateneo Blue Eagles.
The other was Rene, a new recruit of the collegiate basketball team from Agusan del Sur who was named “Most Valuable Player” at the Palarong Pambansa 2025.
The police have filed anti-hazing charges against Baldwin and ten other individuals in connection with their deaths.
