By Uche Amunike
Popular Nigerian singer, Oladapo Daniel Oyebanjo has been arrested and detained, Tuesday by officers of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) over alleged fraud.
The ICPC officers Forced him to surrender himself at the headquarters of the commission in Abuja, after the closing on him.
According to insider sources, the ICPC has been summoning D’banj for a couple of weeks now, but each time he was summoned to appear for interrogation, he would refuse to show up with the excuse that he was overseas for scheduled concerts.
The popular and successful musician is accused of diverting hundreds of millions of Naira that was earmarked by the Nigerian government for N-Power project which was an empowerment program set up by the Buhari administration in 2016 to help in addressing the problem of youth unemployment and also increase social development.
According to a report by Premium Times, investigators alleged that D’banj conspired with some compromised government officials to introduce ghost beneficiaries into the payroll of the N-Power scheme. As the stipend is paid into the accounts of the beneficiaries, those of the ghost beneficiaries are paid to accounts that have allegedly been linked to the musician.
He failed to show up for interrogation in spite of the multiple invitations from the ICPC. They therefore moved to arrest him anywhere in the country and abroad which eventually forced him to show up of the commercials office on Tuesday.
When he arrived the ICBC office, he was subjected to a prolonged interrogation session and thereafter detained. He pleaded for administrative bail, but the officials rejected his plea. According to them, he could not be trusted to be at his trial if he is released on bail.
The ICPC, according to the Premium Times report, stated that they might approach the court on Wednesday for an extended Remand Order in order to enable the agency finish their investigation before charging the embattled D’banj to court.
The ICPC spokesperson, Azuka Ogugua, could not be reached to comment on the story as she is said to be away for a program abroad. D’banj could also not be reached for his comments as he was already in detention.
The 42 year old musician who is also popular called Kokomaster, was born on June 9, 1980 in Zaria town, Kaduna. His father was a military officer who commanded an artillery regiment, while his mother is a businesswoman from Shagamu in the Southwest part of Nigeria. He has twin siblings, Kehinde and Taiwo Oyebanjo.
This song writer who also sings and raps and has made a name for himself in the entertainment industry. He has been around for a while and has built a great fan base over the years. He is also a TV television personality and has been active in the vibrant Nigerian music scene from as far back as 2004. His genre of music cuts across Afrobeat, hip hop, pop and R&B.
