Nigerian singer and rapper, Oladapo Daniel Oyebanjo, popularly known as D’Banj was held and detained by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on Tuesday.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports D’Banj was reported to have turned himself in at ICPC’s headquarters in Abuja where he is being detained after operatives of the agency closed in on him for alleged involvement in fraudulently diverting hundreds of millions of Naira earmarked by the Nigerian government for the N-Power programme.
The N-Power programme, one of the four main programmes under the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), is an empowerment programme set up by the Nigerian government in 2016 to address youth unemployment and increase social development.
The programme is designed to target Nigerians between the ages of 18 and 35 and aims to help young Nigerians acquire and develop life-long skills to become practical solution providers in their communities, enabling them to become innovative players in the domestic and global markets.
In 2021, D’banj was named brand ambassador for NSIP, which components also include the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme (CCTP), Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) and the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP).
TNG recalls that the Afrobeats star was one of many high-profile personalities at the launch of a new NSIP programme spearheaded by Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development Sadiya, Umar Farouq.
D’Banj joined in unveiling the N-Power Batch C1 that year when he disclosed: “One million youths will be carefully selected and will be given N30,000 each month for the period of a year while they sharpen their proficiency in their chosen field of choice”.
At the time D’Banj added: “We cannot do enough to eradicate poverty, but as an ambassador, I am dedicated to this vision and open for creative ideas and strategies to bring down the walls of poverty in Nigeria.
“My heartfelt congratulations to the 500,000 beneficiaries of Stream 1 of Batch C. I also indulge them to make the most of this opportunity. Congratulations and God bless the honourable minister and each ministry fighting the good fight against poverty.”
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After discrepancies were unravelled in the management of accounts reportedly under the purview of D’Banj, the musician, according to sources, failed to show up for interrogation despite multiple invitations, forcing the ICPC into making moves to arrest the Afrobeats star anywhere in Nigeria and abroad.
D’banj, insiders said, had dodged summons for weeks, claiming to be overseas for scheduled concerts each time he was invited to appear for interrogation over the fraud allegations.
Why we are detaining D’Banj – ICPC
Meanwhile, the ICPC has confirmed the detention of D’Banj. Mrs Azuka Ogugua, the ICPC’s spokesperson said this in a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja. Ogugua said that the investigation followed numerous petitions on the diversion of N-Power funds running into billions of naira.
She said many N-Power beneficiaries had complained over the non-receipt of the monthly stipends in spite of payment by the Federal Government.
“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 Oyebanjo to appear before a team of investigators were ignored and not honoured.
“Oyebanjo turned in himself and was taken into custody at the ICPC Headquarters on Tuesday, December 6, 2022, and is currently assisting the investigators to unravel the circumstances of the fraud allegations by the petitioners.
“The investigation will be all-encompassing and also be extended to other collaborators of the fraud and the banks where the beneficiaries’ accounts are domiciled. This press release has become necessary to set the record straight in view of the reports awash in the media,” she said.
According to her, an investigation is ongoing and the commission prefers not to preempt its outcome in order to avoid a media trial.
TNG reports that the N-Power scheme established by President Muhammadu Buhari on June 8, 2016, to empower unemployed graduates, is currently getting legislative attention at the National Assembly (NASS).
President Buhari sent a bill, known as NSIP Bill, to the Senate seeking to provide a legal and institutional framework for the programme