The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) is considering taking legal action against Nigerian artist Speed Darlington, whose real name is Darlington Okoye. He failed to respond to an official invitation to appear at their Abuja office on Friday, May 30.
NAPTIP issued the invitation after a video of Speed Darlington went viral. In the video, he claimed to have had sexual relations with a 15-year-old girl. The clip caused outrage on social media, with many calling for his arrest.
The letter, signed by NAPTIP’s Cybercrime Response Team leader Ngamaraju Mangzha, told the artist to come to their office by 9:00 a.m. on May 30. But by noon, officials confirmed that he had not shown up. One staff member said, “We’re still waiting. If he doesn’t come, we’ll act based on the warning in the letter.”
Another officer, who didn’t want to be named, said Speed Darlington had not contacted the agency or explained why he didn’t show up. “We officially invited him to come by 9 a.m. It’s evening now and we still haven’t heard from him. Maybe he had a delay, but we’ve received no message.”
The agency explained how the matter was brought to them. Once the video came out, people began tagging NAPTIP and the Lagos State Government. Since Lagos officials couldn’t confirm where the incident happened, they handed the case over to NAPTIP, which works nationwide.
In the video posted on May 27, Speed Darlington said he had slept with a “15-year-old virgin.” Many people saw this as him admitting to a serious crime. Because of this, the Lagos State Government passed the case to NAPTIP right away.
The official letter told Speed Darlington to appear because of online videos where he seemed to admit having sex with an underage girl. NAPTIP said such behavior, if proven, would break Nigerian laws on human trafficking and cybercrime.
The letter also asked him to come with a lawyer or any useful documents. It said his help was needed to carry out a proper investigation.
The final part of the letter warned that if he didn’t come, the agency could take stronger legal steps against him.
NAPTIP’s spokesperson, Adekoye Vincent, said the agency’s head, Binta Bello, is keeping a close eye on the case. “This is a serious matter about the safety and rights of a young girl,” he said.
Vincent also said Speed Darlington was not forced to speak in the video. “He clearly admitted it himself,” he added. Darlington even posted another video saying that if he knew people would react this way to a 15-year-old, he would have gone for a 12-year-old instead.
When asked if Speed Darlington would be arrested or if the police would take over the case, Vincent said the agency would act according to the law. “Now that he didn’t come, we’ll decide the next step. It could be an arrest or court case.”
Meanwhile, Isaac Fayose, the brother of ex-governor Ayodele Fayose, said the girl in question plans to report the case to the police. In an attempt to cool the situation, Speed Darlington later claimed the video was fake and just a way to promote his music. He called it a “prank” and said, “I need controversy to make money.”
Despite this excuse, many people are still angry. Women’s rights activists and others say joking about child sexual abuse is extremely harmful and not something to laugh about.
