Popular Nigerian singer Dbanj, with the real name Dapo Oyebanjo, has been arrested by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
Premium Times reports that the top music star was forced to surrender himself at their headquarters in Abuja on December 6, 2022, after he was finally cornered.
It was also gathered that Dbanj had been ignoring summons to defend fraudulent claims against him for many weeks and claiming to be outside the country on concerts.
The music star is being accused of fraudulently diverting hundreds of thousands of naira from the government meant to empower youths under the N-Power project.
It was alleged that Dbanj had connived with corrupt government officials to introduce ghost beneficiaries into the payroll of the funds. The monies were later traced to accounts associated with the singer. According to Premium Times, after Dbanj had failed to honour his summons for months, the ICPC moved to arrest him anywhere, whether home or abroad, eventually leading to him surrendering himself at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja.
The singer’s plea for bail was also rejected after he was subjected to a long interrogation. It was said that he could not be trusted to show up at his own trial if his bail was granted.
Nigerians react to Dbanj’s arrest on N-Power fraud allegations
The news of the top Nigerian singer’s arrest for allegedly fraudulently diverting N-Power funds soon trended online and got netizens talking. Read some of their comments below:
princekadiri_:
“Otilo. Government officials involved name Withheld because of political reasons.”
lola_dolire:
“Where are others?”
orgamarx:
“See how porous these govt projects are. This N power stuff, there were people who benefitted from it even without going to work, some people were still getting paid even after the program ended. At the end of the day, the government themselves are the major scam. They introduce all these programs to steal. Please arrest other culprits, not just Dbanj.”
dayoogedengbe:
“Politicians, some Actress, Actors and skit makers are all on the same WhatsApp group, just that politicians are the group admin.”
iamflorencechioma:
“Ahh, it’s can’t be oo our one and only “Kokolet” der must be a mistake somewhere.”
elendaheke:
“In this life, don’t trust anybody and anything. Social media life is different from real life.”
