By Sulaymon Ruqoya
October 10th, 2024
Darlington Okoye, popularly known as Speed Darlington, has been released on bail after spending five days in police custody. His arrest stemmed from a formal complaint by Grammy-winning artist Burna Boy, who accused Darlington of defamation and cyberstalking.
According to human rights lawyer Deji Adeyanju, Darlington was initially arrested in Lagos last Friday before being transferred to Abuja for detention. Following the fulfillment of his bail conditions, he was released to his lawyer on Tuesday evening.
Adeyanju took to X to thank those who contributed to Darlington’s release and commended the professionalism of the police officers in the Intelligence Response Team (IRT).
The controversy began when Darlington, in a viral video, questioned the legitimacy of Burna Boy’s Grammy win for his album Twice As Tall and taunted the singer’s alleged ties to embattled American rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, who is currently facing legal issues. In response, Darlington’s mother pleaded in a video, asking Burna Boy to “tamper justice with mercy” and release her only son.