Singer Oladapo Oyebanji, aka D’banj, has reportedly been detained by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, according to PremiumTimes.
He was apprehended and held on Tuesday when ICPC agents surrounded him and forced him to present himself at the organization’s Abuja headquarters.
According to Premium Times, D’banj evaded summonses for weeks by saying he was abroad for scheduled concerts each time he was asked to show up for an interrogation regarding a fraud allegation.
He is accused of defrauding the Nigerian government of hundreds of millions of naira intended for the N-Power project, an empowerment initiative launched by the Nigerian government in 2016 to combat young unemployment and advance social development.
Investigators contend that D’banj conspired with some tainted government representatives to add fictitious beneficiaries to the scheme’s payroll. Then, the recipients get payments into accounts that are now purportedly connected to the pop star.
The ICPC sought to arrest the artist anywhere in Nigeria and overseas after he repeatedly declined invitations to appear for questioning; as a result, he was forced to appear at the commission’s headquarters on Tuesday.
On arrival, D’banj was subjected to a prolonged interrogation session after which he was detained. His plea for administrative bail was rejected by officials who said the musician could not be trusted to attend his trial if released on bail.
