The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) arrested and detained Oladapo Oyebanji, better known by his stage name, D’banj.
PREMIUM TIMES is able to exclusively report that the musician was arrested and taken into custody on Tuesday, December 6, 2022, after ICPC agents overtook him, forcing him to surrender at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja, the capital of the Nigeria.
According to insiders, D’banj avoided the call-up for weeks, pretending to be overseas for scheduled concerts whenever asked to report for questioning over allegations of fraud.
The singer is accused of fraudulent embezzlement of hundreds of naira allocated by the Nigerian government for the N-Power project, an empowerment program set up in 2016 to tackle youth unemployment and increase social development.
Investigators say D’banj colluded with compromised officials to introduce phantom beneficiaries onto the program’s payroll.
Checks paid to these beneficiaries are then paid into accounts that would now have been linked to the pop star.
After the musician failed to appear for questioning despite multiple invitations, the ICPC decided to arrest him everywhere in Nigeria and abroad, forcing him to report to the commission office on Tuesday.
Upon arrival, D’banj underwent a lengthy interrogation, after which he was arrested. His request for administrative bail was denied by officials who said the musician could not be trusted to attend his trial if released on bail.
