Daniel Oladapo, better known by his stage as D’Banj, was freed from prison by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.
D’banj was released on self-recognizance, according to the lawyer who made the announcement, Pelumi Olajengbesi, on Friday.
According to The PUNCH, the lawyer had yesterday demanded that the singer be released from ICPC detention.
In a statement on Thursday, Olajengbesi claimed that D’Banj, who had been detained by the anti-graft agency on Tuesday, was not responsible for the claims of financial misappropriation that had been brought against him in relation to the social empowerment program “N-Power Scheme.”
Additionally, he ordered that the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs release the identities of any government employees who may have collaborated with D’Banj on the alleged scam.
Olajengbesi, who announced D’banj’s release on his Facebook page and in a statement on Friday, said nothing impeachable had been discovered about the musician.
According to the statement, the well-known musician was freed on Friday afternoon by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) following 72 hours of unjust incarceration and baseless accusations against him.
It is noteworthy that the ICPC freed D’banj on his own recognizance after discovering no evidence of his guilt
Nigerians need to know that D’banj is clean and has never been in trouble with the law or committed fraud. But it’s embarrassing for the whole country that a public figure is being accused of fraud worth N900 million without any proof.
“The ICPC Chairman, Bolaji Owasanoye (SAN), and the rest of the ICPC officers must be very sad and embarrassed that their good organization was used for such shameful publicity against an innocent man. Only a few groups and people stood and waited to see if the claims were true. This kind of trial by the press is bad.
“Sadiya Farouq, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, who said she told the ICPC to arrest D’banj, must now be ready to explain to the world how much money was found in his account and where it came from.
“We still want the minister to tell us what government agency D’banj is said to have worked with and what account and N-power funds are said to have been linked to D’banj’s account.
“This is unfair, and if our client tells us to, we may go to court to get the ICPC to make amends, apologize in public, and pay us back. The fact that D’banj is in jail is unfair because the ICPC couldn’t find anything wrong with his good character.
“I want to thank Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) and my Learned Senior Barr very much. Babs Akinwumi for being in charge.”
The PUNCH says that the ICPC arrested the singer on Tuesday over claims that he and some government officials worked together to steal millions of dollars from the N-Power program. He was held at the ICPC Headquarters in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, for 73 hours before he was finally let go on Friday.