- A week ago, controversial singer Speed Darlington was rearrested for alleged defamation
- The singer is reportedly still in the police custody
- TheRadar curated a list of Nigerian artistes who have been arrested for alleged defamation
It’s been one week since the rearrest of Nigerian singer Speedy Darlington over the alleged defamation of Burna Boy and jumping bail.
In a recent video posted by social media activist VeryDarKMan, he shared an update suggesting that Speed Darlington might be granted bail on Monday, December 9, 2024.
VeryDarkMan also claimed that Burna Boy abandoned the idea of taking the criminal route to deal with defamation from Speed Darlington. He, however, would take the case to a civil court.
Following this new development, TheRadar curated three Nigerian artistes who have also been arrested for alleged defamation in the Nigerian music industry.
3 Nigerian singers who were arrested for alleged defamation
- Speed Darlington (2024)
The controversial singer Speed Darlington was first arrested in October over an alleged defamatory video he made about Burna Boy.
The singer had questioned the authenticity of Burna Boy’s Grammy award. Speed Darlington also linked the win to the controversial Diddy case, alleging that the singer might be gay.
Two days after his arrest, Speed was released following pleas from his mother and the intervention of his lawyer, Deji Adeyanju.
However, on November 28, the singer was rearrested, with speculations suggesting that Burna Boy was behind it. Speed Darlington’s lawyer later clarified that it was only because of his ongoing defamation suit from Burna Boy.
According to the lawyer, Speed Darlington was rearrested for jumping bail. He is reportedly still in the police's custody.
- Dammy Krane (2024)
Nigerian singer Johnson Oyindamola, known as Dammy Krane, was also arrested for alleged defamation. Davido reportedly arrested the singer over several allegations he made.
The feud between the duo had lingered since 2023 before the arrest happened. From alleging that Davido owes him to other bold allegations, Dammy Krane always had something to say about Davido.
In August 2024, Dammy Krane was released after spending a week in police custody. His release also came after VeryDarkMan publicly interceded for his release.
- Harrysong (2022)
The last Nigerian artiste on this list is popular singer Harry Okiki, known as Harrysong. In 2022, he was arrested by the Nigerian police over an alleged defamation.
The singer, according to Sahara Reporters, was nabbed for an alleged threat to the life of music executive Soso Soberekan. Harrysong had alleged that Soso was his enemy and once attempted to assassinate him.
Following the accusations, Soso sent a defamation notice and demanded a retraction of the statement with a N500,000,000 compensation.
Nasboi: 6 copyright infringement accusations in Nigerian music industry
Earlier, TheRadar reported that Veteran Nigerian singer Friday Igweh, popularly known as Baba Fryo, called out Nasboi over copyright infringement.
Baba Fryo alleged that Nasboi copied part of his lyrics on Denge Pose, which was infused into Nasboi’s latest song, Short Skirt. This prompted a highlight of six copyright infringement accusations in the Nigerian music industry.
