The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has confirmed that controversial rapper Speed Darlington remains on its security watchlist over allegations of sexual activity with a minor.
The agency revealed on Monday that the artiste, whose real name is Darlington Okoye, was added to the watchlist after repeatedly failing to respond to invitations to appear before investigators in Abuja.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja to launch the 2025 edition of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, NAPTIP’s Director of Legal and Prosecution, Mrs Ijeoma Amugo, said the rapper is under investigation over a May 2024 Instagram live video in which he allegedly admitted to having sexual relations with a 15-year-old girl.
Rather than cooperate with the investigation, Amugo noted, Speed Darlington went on social media to attack the agency and declared he would not comply with questioning.
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“What he did was to preemptively try to intimidate us by going to social media to say that he wouldn’t come and that he wouldn’t respond to us, claiming we were violating his human rights,” she said.
Efforts to physically locate the rapper, she added, were unsuccessful. Intelligence reports suggest that he has left Nigeria.
“Our last information is that he’s outside Nigeria. We’ve placed him on watchlist. The moment he steps back into the country, we’ll pick up the investigation,” Amugo explained.
She further stressed: “As I speak to you, the last report we have is that he’s outside the country and we have not heard from him. We have placed him on watchlist. Anytime he enters Nigeria, NAPTIP will continue the investigation from where we stopped. That is the status of the case for now.”
Earlier reports in July revealed that NAPTIP had placed Speed Darlington on an international watchlist with a N50 million bounty after the expiration of the grace period for his wanted status.