Nigerian Afrobeat musician, Oladapo Daniel Oyebanjo, popularly known as D’banj has been arrested and detained in Abuja for allegedly embezzling N-Power funds.
D’banj was arrested on Tuesday, December 6, by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences commission(ICPC).
According to Premium times, the Afrobeat star was forced to surrender after being summoned for weeks but refused to heed. He was arrested based on allegedly diverting funds intended for the N-Power project into his personal account.
The N-Power project is an empowerment programme set up by the Nigerian government in 2016. Its aim is to increase social development and fight issues of youth unemployment.
According to reports, D’banj had introduced non-existent beneficiaries into the scheme after having a kind of agreement with some government officials. It was later found out that the amounts allocated to the “beneficiaries” are linked to his account.
However, D’Banj’s request for release on bail has been rejected based on the fact that they could not rely on him to appear at his trial. Also, The ICPC may ask the court for a prolonged detention order today in order to finish its investigation.
D’Banj is a Nigerian singer-songwriter popular for songs like Oliver Twist,bFall in and others. He has been making hits back to back since 2004.