Darlington Okoye, popularly known as Speed Darlington, was reportedly placed on the watchlist after repeatedly failing to respond to invitations to meet with investigators in Abuja.
The agency’s Director of Legal and Prosecution, Mrs. Ijeoma Amugo, provided details during a press conference marking the start of the 2025 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. She linked the investigation to a May 2024 Instagram live video in which the rapper allegedly claimed to have engaged in sexual relations with a 15-year-old girl.
According to Amugo, the artiste avoided cooperation and instead used social media to criticize the agency. “What he did was to preemptively try to intimidate us by going online 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 locate the rapper physically proved unsuccessful, as investigators could not find him at his known addresses. Intelligence later indicated that he had left Nigeria.
“Our last information is that he’s outside Nigeria. We’ve placed him on the watchlist. The moment he steps back into the country, we’ll pick up the investigation. As I speak to you, the last report we have is that he’s outside the country and we have not heard from him,” Amugo stated.
The agency emphasized that the investigation remains active and that Speed Darlington will be pursued as soon as he returns to Nigeria.
This development underscores NAPTIP’s ongoing commitment to addressing allegations of sexual misconduct and protecting minors, as part of broader efforts highlighted during the 16 Days of Activism campaign.