Three days after the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) declared him wanted, rapper Darlington ‘Speed Darlington’ Okoye has read the riot act to the body.
In a statement on its official Instagram page last Friday, NAPTIP released Speed Darlington’s mugshot, labelled ‘wanted.’
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The agency urged the public and Nigerians to contact them with pertinent information regarding the singer’s whereabouts.
“The public is hereby notified that the National Agency wants the individual whose photograph appears above for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) in connection with alleged offences of rape, cyberbullying, and cyberstalking,” the statement read.
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The declaration follows a disturbing video which the singer posted on Instagram, where he admitted to having carnal knowledge of a minor in a hotel room.
Reacting to the statement, Darlington, who left the country shortly before it was issued, stated emphatically that he has no intention of honouring it.
In a 3-minute video posted on his Instagram page, the controversial singer challenged the government body, telling them to take the video down.
He said, “You will need to take down all these wanted posters you posted everywhere. I’m not coming. You hear me? I’m not coming. I have not committed any crime.
“All I did was speak. Irresponsible talk is not a crime. I’m not coming. Okay? Where is your evidence? Who is the complainant?”
Defamation of character
The’ Baby Oil’ singer accused NAPTIP of defaming his character and said that the anti-trafficking agency is only out to garner social media clout using his name.
“I was born here, too, so I know the psychological mind game you’re playing with my name. I charge 2.5 million for an appearance. You will pay me 2.5 million plus round-trip tickets for me and my P.A. to come because I call that an appearance.
“I know that you have no evidence. There is no crime; all I did was try to trend. You have no evidence. You have nothing. So, my coming here is a waste of my time,” Akpi, as he is known, said.
He not only accused the body of pandering to ladies who hate him because he no longer looks their way because of their age, but he also said that their goal is to prove to Nigerians that they are working by using him as a scapegoat.
“Go after me for what? For talking? Which one is cyberstalking? Who did I stalk? Did I post anyone? Cyberbullying. Who did I bully? Did I call any names in the video? You guys are here throwing English up and down, trying to intimidate people so you can look important.
“And now you feel the need to prove that your agency is a useful agency… Honestly, I will sue you for defamation of character for spoiling my name. You have no evidence,” Darlington added.
Back and forth
In May, NAPTIP summoned the ‘Village Girl’ singer for interrogation over alleged sex with a minor, based on video confessions.
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In an official statement, NAPTIP said that the issues that warranted the invitation of Speed Darlington are not limited to a video where he allegedly admitted to having engaged in sexual acts with an underage girl.
“Additional archived videos, now in circulation, similarly contain admissions and degrading commentary concerning minors,” the body noted while referring to an old video, where the singer was accused of sleeping with a 12-year-old girl, who was said to be his landlady’s househelp.
Speed Darlington declined the summons while proposing a new date for NAPTIP.
This led the body to publish his mugshot while declaring him wanted.
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