Embattled singer Darlington Okoye, popularly known as Speed Darlington, has declared that he won’t honour the invitation of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) which declared him wanted for alleged cyberbullying, cyberstalking, and rape.
On June 30, in a video posted on his social media platforms, Speed Darlington expressed his strong discontent with NAPTIP’s actions, vowing not to respond to the agency’s invite, while vehemently denying any wrongdoing.
He insisted that his comments during the live session were merely reckless speech, rather than criminal behaviour.
In his latest video, he stated: “This message is for NAPTIP. All these wanted posters you posted and blasted everywhere; I want you to take them down.
“I am not coming. You hear me, I am not coming! I have not committed any crime. All I did was speak. Irresponsible talk is not a crime. Where is your evidence? Who is the complainant?”
He alleged that the agency was leveraging his name to gain social media traction and project an image of being proactive in their work.
Speed Darlington further raised the stakes by claiming that if he were to appear before NAPTIP’s investigation panel, he would require a fee of N2.5 million.
The amount, he explained, will cover the cost of his round-trip tickets for him and his assistant.
“I call that an appearance because you guys have no evidence. There is no crime. All I did was try to trend. You have no evidence. You have nothing, so my coming there is a waste of my time,” the singer added.
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He also suggested that NAPTIP’s actions were in response to certain social media users who urged the agency to take action against him.
Specifically, Speed Darlington pointed out that women in their 30s and 20s, presumably those without partners, were at the forefront of the calls for his investigation.
Addressing the allegations of cyberstalking and cyberbullying, he retorted that “which one is cyberstalking? Who did I stalk? Did I post the video of anyone?
“Cyberbullying? Who did I bully? Did I call any names in the video? You are just there throwing English around, trying to intimidate people so you can look important.”
The development is coming after the agency issued a public notice, urging the public to provide information regarding his whereabouts.
