Trouble has come knocking on the door of Nigerian entertainer Darlington Okoye, popularly known as Speed Darlington, with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) placing him on an international watch list and alerting INTERPOL to arrest him for allegedly raping a minor.
The agency’s action followed a viral video in which he apparently confessed to sex with and deflowering of a 15-year-old girl.
However, the Nigerian entertainer dismissed the allegations against him, saying that he will not honour the summons from NAPTIP, except the agency paid his ₦2.5 million appearance fee as an entertainer.
In a video posted on his Instagram page on Monday, the singer insisted he had committed no crime, described the allegations as baseless, and accused the agency of seeking social media attention.
Okoye said: “This video I am making is for NAPTIP. You people should pay attention. All these wanted posters you people posted all around, you all need to take that (summon posts) down.
“I’m not coming. You hear me? I’m not coming. I have not committed any crime. All I did was speak. Irresponsible talk is not a crime.”
The 41-year-old singer accused NAPTIP of trying to use him for social media attention, questioning the agency’s motives and demanding evidence of any wrongdoing.
“Where is your evidence? Who is the complainant? You want to use me to collect social media clout? ‘Hey, look at us. We are doing our job. We summoned a celebrity and he came,’” he said.
He said he would only appear if paid his standard appearance fee.
“2.5 million is what I charge for my appearance. You want to pay me 2.5 million plus round-trip tickets for me and my PA to come? Because I call that appearance,” he added.
Referring to his controversial Instagram livestream where he appeared to confess to sleeping with a 15-year-old girl, Speed Darlington maintained there was no evidence against him and dismissed the uproar as unjustified.
“There is no crime. All I did was try to claim it. You have no evidence. So, me coming here is a waste of my time… Which one is cyberstalking? Who did I stalk? Did I post or bully or call anyone names in the video?”
He also criticised women tagging NAPTIP to take action, accusing them of “hating on him”, and warned that he would sue the agency for defamation if his name was not cleared.
“You have no evidence against me,” he insisted.
NAPTIP had declared Okoye wanted last Friday via its official Instagram handle, urging the public to report any information on his whereabouts.
“Darlington Okoye, aka Speed Darlington, is wanted in connection with alleged offences including rape, cyberbullying, and cyberstalking,” the agency said.
The declaration followed Okoye’s failure to honour multiple invitations from the agency after his viral Children’s Day livestream triggered public outrage and concern from women’s rights groups. The Lagos State government also reported the incident to NAPTIP.
The agency first summoned him on 28 May to appear in Abuja on 30 May. He declined and proposed 26 June instead. NAPTIP rejected the new date, citing the urgency of the matter, and gave a final deadline of 2 June—also ignored by the singer.
“The issue at hand is of urgent national importance and requires an urgent response,” the agency said in a letter, warning of possible legal consequences for non-compliance.
Although Okoye later claimed the video was a prank aimed at promoting his music, critics said trivialising child sexual abuse—even in jest—was unacceptable.
NAPTIP maintained that his statements, if proven true, could amount to violations under the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act 2015 and the Cybercrime Act 2015.
“We have put all of them on procedural notice so that wherever they see him, they can take action,” said NAPTIP’s Chief Press Officer, Vincent Adekoye. “We have given him enough opportunity.”
“We are working to limit his access to people, wherever he may be hiding, because he is alleged to be a dangerous individual. He has openly admitted to raping a 14-year-old girl, and as recently as yesterday, he confessed to raping a 15-year-old.
“We call on any country where he is hiding to place him under surveillance, arrest him, and hand him over to the appropriate authorities. He is alleged to be an extremely dangerous man who must be removed from society.”
