Ruggedman, the rapper, has denied reports claiming he was detained at the state criminal investigation department (SCID) in Panti, Yaba.
On Thursday, human rights activist Harrison Gwamnishu had alleged that Ruggedman was being held and maltreated in police custody over a dispute involving the Performing Musicians Employers Association of Nigeria (PMAN).
In an Instagram post on Saturday, Ruggedman, whose real name is Michael Stephens, dismissed the claim as “fake” and a “smear campaign”.
He said Pretty Okafor, the national president of PMAN, had filed a petition against him and other members of the union.
The rapper said the petition was not about theft but centred on unaccounted funds allegedly missing from the PMAN office.
“The information that I was arrested for stealing money is false. It is fake. It was just a smear campaign by disgruntled human beings,” he said.
“If you know me, you know what I’ve been doing is fighting for people, it’s speaking up for the voiceless, and that has never changed.
“There was a petition written against me, Sunny Neji, Zaaki Azzay, and a couple of other people.
“It wasn’t about us stealing money but about money missing in an office, which has not been proved. There’s no evidence proving that they saw me or Sunny Neji with money.
“This petition was written by Pretty Okafor, the former president of PMAN. He was suspended on the grounds of some illegal actions he took against PMAN, which, according to the constitution, allows the NWC to suspend him because of those bad actions.
“The same people who suspended him were the same people he wrote a petition against, and that money is missing in the same PMAN office.
“Not that we stole money. He still has to prove that he saw us holding money.”
In August 2024, the PMAN national executive council announced the indefinite suspension of Ruggedman and other members, including Sunny Neji, Zaaki Azzay, and JFO Baba Ojonorgua.
The council said the 51-year-old rapper and others were suspended after being “found guilty of misconduct”.
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