D’banj Reportedly Released From ICPC Custody

His lawyer claims the commission couldn’t find any evidence against him, hence his release.

Famous musician Oladapo Oyebanjo, better known as D’banj, has reportedly been released by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC), after spending over 72 hours in detention.

The musician was released on Friday afternoon, and the ICPC may call him again later, according to Premium Times article.

Reportedly, the musician cooperated with the Commission during their probe, hence his release.

His lawyer Pelumi Olajengbesi said that D’banj was released on supervised probation but couldn’t confirm whether the ICPC had given the musician administrative bail.

He also claimed that the ICPC didn’t trace any evidence of fraudulent activity to the singer.

“Nothing incriminating was found on him. He was released on self-recognition. Right now, we expect the ICPC to give a letter of clearance to Dbanj because, as we have always said, he is innocent of the charges brought against him,” the lawyer said.

However, according to Premium Times, two Nigerian banks have provided the anti-graft organisation with extensive financial information regarding the matter.

Recall that Pulse reported that on Tuesday, the singer was detained by the ICPC after several calls from the commission were ignored.

It was later confirmed that he is under investigation for allegedly diverting funds released for the federal government’s N-Power project. A project which was initiated in 2016 to combat the country’s unemployment challenges.

Singer D’banj has denied any affiliation with the fraud allegations levelled against him by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC).

The musician feels that he is in some way the object of faceless hatred or targeted blackmail from others who may have a stake in his misfortune.

The lawyer for Dbanj, said that he is completely prepared and eager to collaborate to the fullest extent permitted by law in order to ascertain the truth in this situation, “which we take pretty seriously,” and described the charges as absurd and intentional publicity.

Who made the call for investigation?

The federal ministry of humanitarian affairs, disaster management, and social development has revealed that it reported the alleged fraud in the N-Power programme the ICPC for investigation.

In a statement, Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, the permanent secretary of the ministry, said there have been some inadequacies in the payment processes of N-Power beneficiaries, hence the need to invite the ICPC for investigation.

In his words, “when it came to our notice that there may have been some sharp practices by some personnel of the Payment Service Provider involved in the payment processes of beneficiaries, the matter was immediately referred to ICPC for a thorough investigation. We are aware that certain persons have consequently been invited for interrogation as part of the ongoing investigations.”

As things stand, the singer has been released from the commission’s custody. Further details will be provided later.