… wants the ministry to make money traced to the singer’s public, government officials named
Pelumi Olajengbesi, the lawyer for popular musician Daniel Oladapo, also known as D’Banj, has called for the singer’s release from the custody of the Independent Commission for Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses.
Olajengbesi in a statement on Thursday said D’Banj, who was arrested by the anti-corruption agency on Tuesday, was innocent of the embezzlement allegations that followed him regarding the ‘N-Power Scheme’ social empowerment programme.
He also demanded that the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs release the names of government officials allegedly involved with D’Banj in the alleged fraud.
Olajengbesi, the managing partner of Law Corridor, then sought the singer’s release, especially after he had spent 48 hours in detention during interrogation.
“It has become necessary in the interest of justice and for the public record to disclose the following facts regarding the false accusation against Mr. Daniel Oladapo (D’banj), especially since his immediate release has become expedient under the law and constitutional convention. have cooperated satisfactorily with the Commission’s investigation within the last 48 hours:
“The Commission’s investigators, between December 6 and 7, 2022, thoroughly examined D’banj’s honest and direct responses to all of his inquiries to the mutual satisfaction of the Commission and his legal representatives.
“That D’banj has diligently cooperated with the Commission in the course of its investigation and has shown a shared zeal to help the Commission make its passionate and honest conclusions on the matter, as he is also interested in clearing his name,” said the lawyer. .
He added that after the interview session on Wednesday, “we were informed that he would be released as a matter of course without finding anything about him and without any further reason for his continued detention. However, he was required to have the President of the Commission sign off on his immediate release before it could take place and it never happened.
“We were in the Commission today (Thursday) to give D’banj the required legal representation and all we were waiting for was ‘go-ahead’ which never came. D’banj was also not interviewed today on any other issue before his lawyers.
“While we hold on to the sustained hope that D’banj will not somehow become the victim of targeted blackmail or faceless malice from certain quarters with perhaps a vested interest in his downfall, we want to reassure the general public and the Commission by implication that we are completely ready and willing to cooperate to the extent of the law that allows us to find the truth in this matter that we take very seriously, ”says the statement.
D’Banj’s lawyer requested that the names of government officials allegedly involved in collusion with the singer to perpetuate the alleged fraud be provided.
“In the same vein, we reiterate that D’banj does not have such access nor did he collude with any government official in any dubious transactions. The prosecution itself is a nightmare that must be dispelled by a truth affirmation of D’banj’s blameless innocence.
“Of course, we are now making a strong demand on the oversight Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs to immediately release the names of the government officials who are alleged to have colluded with D’banj and to make the investigation into them public. We also demand that the ministry immediately make public the money allegedly traced to D’banj’s account.
“We call on the National Assembly Committee on Public Accounts to open a comprehensive investigation into the N-Power scheme through an open public hearing and free entry without protecting any sacred cow.
“It is alarming and incongruous to design such an accusation against D’banj, who has no access to government accounts or government platforms, to have siphoned off such huge sums without any government official in his custody.
“We have chosen to treat this matter with all due diligence and with the benefit of the doubt extended to the Commission as we are aware that the Commission is headed by a law professor and senior counsel from Nigeria who we believe has the principle that a defendant is innocent until proven guilty and would constitutionally comply with the same,” Olajengbesi said.
“It is to this end that we implore the Commission to take into account having detained D’banj beyond constitutionally permitted limits without charges being filed in court, after which we encourage the Commission to bring him before a competent court with the necessary charges. immediately or release him properly while they continue to investigate him, which we understand can be a demanding and pressing task.
“D’banj is innocent of all the ludicrous accusations and deliberate publicity and has shown patriotism in rooting for the Commission and such an act of good faith should not be unfairly rewarded,” it added.