Fraud allegation: What we plan to do next after release – D’banj’s lawyer tells netng

Pelumi Olajengbesi, the lawyer representing Nigerian music star, Daniel “D’banj” Oladapo, has expressed outrage over the detention of the pop star and revealed that the legal team may seek redress and a public apology in court.

Speaking exclusively with Netng shortly after D’banj’s release from a 72-hour detention by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) over the allegation of being involved in ₦900m N-Power scam, Olajengbesi insisted the musician is innocent insisting its a case of false narratives.

D’banj was arrested and detained on Wednesday, December 7, 2022, by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) over an allegation that he was involved in ₦900m scam related to N-Power scheme, a federal government skill programme for young Nigerians in different disciplines.

“About 10 persons have been invited by the ICPC over the last few months in connection with the N-Power fraud, and have been granted administrative bail after their detention. Several invitations to Mr. Oladipo Daniel Oyebanjo (D’banj), to appear before a team of investigators were ignored and not honoured,” a statement by the ICPC on Wednesday read.

Speaking exclusively with Netng shortly after D’banj’s release on Friday, December 9, 2022, Olajengbesi insisted that the musician is innocent and claimed it’s a case of false narratives.

for the alleged fund diversion of millions of N-Power funds in collaboration with some government officials and detained at the ICPC headquarters in Abuja but was released two days later.

Olajengbesi told Netng: “We are very confident in D’banj’s innocence as this is just a case of mistaken narrative. We expect the commission to come out and clear his name. He has no business with N-Power. The commission knows this.”

On whether he intends to sue the commission, the lawyer said D’banj’s legal team has a structure with Mike Ozekhome at the head. He said while they have not finalised their next action yet, he hinted that they may seek redress in court which may include requesting a public apology from the commission to clear his name.

He added: “For someone that does not have a criminal record, what they did to him is an embarrassment. We want to assure D’banj’s fans and loyalists that he is innocent and we thank them for keeping faith in him.”

Also in a statement released publicly shortly after his release, Olajengbesi accused the ICPC of allowing itself to be used to publicly shame D’banj.

He said: “The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq, who claimed to have instructed the ICPC to detain D’banj must now be ready to explain to the world the money traced to his account and the amount.”

Olajebgbesi asked the minister to provide the details of the government authority D’banj allegedly collaborated with.