A Nigerian musician, Oladapo Oyebanji, popularly known as D’banj was apprehended and held on Tuesday when the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) agents surrounded him and forced him to present himself at the organization’s headquarters in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), an anti-graft organization, has detained D’banj, a well-known musician from Nigeria, for fraud claims.
Insiders claimed that D’banj had evaded summonses for weeks by stating that he was abroad for booked concerts each time he was asked to show up for an interrogation about allegations.
The ICPC sought to arrest the artist anywhere in Nigeria and abroad after he repeatedly declined invitations to appear for questioning; as a result, he was forced to appear at the commission’s office on Tuesday.
The music artist, a well-known and affluent Nigerian celebrity, is charged with defrauding the Nigerian government of monies intended for the N-Power project, an empowerment initiative launched by the Nigerian government in 2016 to combat youth unemployment and advance social development.
Investigators contend that D’banj conspired with some government representatives to add fake beneficiaries to the scheme’s payroll. The stipends were then transferred to accounts that were purportedly connected to the celebrity after being paid to those beneficiaries.
D’banj was questioned upon arrival before being taken into custody. Officials rejected his request for administrative bail because they believed the singer could not be trusted to appear at his trial if released on bail.
Azuka Ogugua, the ICPC spokesperson, could not be reached for comment on this article. She reportedly travels abroad for a program. According to information obtained, the ICPC may ask the court on Wednesday for an extension of the musician’s detention period so that the agency can finish its investigation before bringing the musician before a judge.
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