Claim
A Facebook page, Naija, claimed that the Nigerian social media influencer Speed Darlington threatened to continue to talk about Nigerian Singer Burna Boy recently.
Verdict
This claim is FALSE. Findings showed that Speed Darlington is yet to be released from police custody despite a court order. Therefore, this was a made-up claim.
Full Text
A Facebook page, Naija, has claimed that social media influencer Speed Darlington threatened to continue to talk about Nigerian Singer Burna Boy and Didi after his alleged release recently.
In a Facebook post on 25 December 2024, Naija shared the photos of Speed Darlington and Burna Boy and wrote, “The fact that Burna Boy went ahead to arr£st me after what I said about him has just proven that he is Gáybriel. If he didn’t do anything with Diddy, he wouldn’t be bothered” — Speed Darlington drags Burna Boy again a few hours after his release from prǐson
“When you are not guilty, what people say will not affect you. Burna Boy knows what he did with Diddy, and what I said was true. That’s the reason why he was trying to silence me. I won’t stop saying what is on my mind, and I will make more songs for him.”
The post garnered over 2.5k reactions, more than 1k comments, and 48 shares on Facebook.
Many people who commented on the post, agreed that this claim was true.
For instance, Sotybel Empire who commented on the post, said, “Sotybel empire
When Burna arrests again, Una says na oppression.
People like to tarnish some reputations.
I don’t mind Burna taking him back again.”
Another commenter, Itz Shugalipsy wrote,
“Imagine a superstar. You are spoiling his name and expect him to be quiet.”
Background
In November, Nigerian social media influencer Darlington Okoye, better known as Speed Darlington or “AKPI,” was arrested again by operatives of the Nigeria Police Force in Owerri, Imo State, over complaints of alleged defamation by Singer Burna Boy.
In October, Speed Darlington was arrested in Lagos for allegedly cyberstalking fellow Nigerian artist Damini Ogulu, popularly known as Burna Boy. Following his arrest, he was transferred to Abuja and detained by the Inspector General of Police’s Intelligence Response Team in Guzape before being released on bail.
Verification
As of the time of writing this Check, Speed Darlington is yet to regain freedom from police despite a court order asking the Nigerian police to release or charge to court.
According to the report, a federal high court in Abuja, on 23 December, ordered Kayode Egbetokun, the inspector-general of police, to release the detained singer Speed Darlington within 48 hours.
Musa Liman, the judge, gave the order in a ruling on an ex-parte motion moved by David Ihuoma, the singer’s counsel.
Liman ordered the police chief to charge Darlington to court or release him on bail unconditionally within 48 hours.
The judge adjourned the matter until January 6 for the hearing of the substantive case.
However, Forty-eight hours after embattled singer Darlington Achakpo, popularly known as Speed Darlington, was granted bail by the Federal High Court in Abuja, his lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, said that despite the court order, the police have refused to release the singer.
In an X post on 27 December, Mr Adeyanju expressed frustration, stating, “The Nigerian Police have refused to release Speed Darlington, a.k.a. Akpi, despite the explicit order of the Federal High Court to do so. This is the highest form of disrespect to the judiciary.”
There’s no recent trending video of Speed Darlington that shows the influencer threatening to talk about Burna Boy after a thorough search by FACTWATCH Nigeria. This indicated that the claim by Naija was made up.
Conclusion
The Facebook page, Naija, deliberately shared made-up comments and attributed them to Speed Darlington, who’s yet to be released. Therefore, this claim is FALSE.
Credit: FACTWATCH Nigeria
