Veteran rapper, Michael Ugochukwu Stephens, popularly known as Ruggedman, said he has nothing to do with Naira Marleys arrest and called on those peddling the rumour to desist from making that assumption.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Friday, May 10, 2019, arrested Azeez Fashola aka Naira Marley, Omoniyi Temidayo Raphael aka Zlatan Ibile at Gbangbola street, Ikate, Lekki, Lagos.
Ruggedman, in a statement issued on Monday, debunked the news going around that he was involved in the arrest of Naira Marley by the EFCC after their online beef a few weeks ago.
According to him, even though he said he was happy Naira Marley was arrested, the reason for that statement was because of the reawakening such actions would indicate to young Nigerians who want to get involved in cyber fraud.
“My fellow Nigerians and the Distinguished members of the Press, I have read and heard all sorts of comments pertaining to the Naira Marley case and seen the misinformation making the rounds which are quite unfortunate, to say the least. I do not know Naira Marley personally, the same way I do not know the over 300 Nigerians I have gotten justice for against police brutality. I do it because it is who I am.
“All I did was caution a young artist, who has influence, against making utterances about an issue that by the global standard is considered a crime. I believe correcting this was the way to go as an elder, but got insulted for this even by those being misled. I never responded to Naira Marley’s invectives nor those of his fans, same way I have not responded to any of the negative comments from social media.
“I note that saying I was “happy in a way” about his arrest has evidently frayed some nerves and for that, I apologise. It was in hope that it would serve as a deterrent for persons who might consider the said ills or need to make a U-turn. It by no means was intended to wish for his downfall. It perhaps was not a good choice of word in hindsight. I do not look forward to anyone’s downfall but rather hope we all learn from the situation, Ruggedman said in the statement.
