According to Premium Times, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has detained Oladapo Oyebanji, better known by his stage name D’banj.
According to sources familiar with the situation, the musician was forced to surrender at the ICPC headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday after ICPC agents closed in on him.
According to insiders, D’banj had defied summonses for several weeks by claiming to be abroad for scheduled concerts whenever he was summoned to appear for an interrogation regarding a fraud claim.
The pop star, a well-known Nigerian celebrity, is accused of defrauding the government of hundreds of naira intended for the N-Power project, a government empowerment program launched in 2016 to combat youth unemployment and promote social development.
-Advertisement- According to the investigation, D’banj and a few compromised government officials conspired to add ghost beneficiaries to the scheme’s payroll. The beneficiaries’ stipend is then transferred to accounts that are now allegedly associated with the pop star.
ALSO READ: Counterfeit Armed force Lieutenant cheating casualties captured by Police
After the artist neglected to appear for cross examination notwithstanding various solicitations, the ICPC moved to capture him anyplace in Nigeria and abroad, compelling him to appear at the commission’s office on Tuesday.
D’banj was taken into custody following a lengthy interrogation session upon arrival. His supplication for managerial bail was dismissed by authorities who said the performer couldn’t be relied upon to go to his preliminary whenever delivered on bail.
According to sources, the ICPC may request an extended remand order from the court on Wednesday to allow the agency to finish its investigation before charging the musician with a crime.
Azuka Ogugua, the ICPC’s spokesperson, could not be reached for comment. It’s said that she’s going to a program overseas. According to his Wikipedia profile, D’banj, 42, also known as the Kokomaster, was born on June 9, 1980, in Zaria, Kaduna State, north-west Nigeria, to a military officer who commanded an artillery regiment and a businesswoman from Shagamu, Ogun State, south-west Nigeria. The musician could not be reached for comment because he was also in detention.
Taiwo and Kehinde Oyebanjo, the musician’s siblings, are his identical twins.
D’banj is a television personality, songwriter, singer, and rapper who has been a part of the vibrant Nigerian music scene since 2004. He sings afrobeat, hip pop, pop, and R&B.