Burna Boy behind Speed Darlington’s rearrest – Lawyer, Deji Adeyanju

On Wednesday, human rights lawyer Deji Adeyanju confirmed his client, singer Darlington ‘Speed Darlington’ Okoye’s rearrest in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES.

Earlier, Mr Adeyanju broke the news on Facebook but didn’t share details about Speed Darlington’s rearrest.

However, he told this newspaper that Speed Darlington’s rearrest was on the orders of a fellow musician

He said: “Burna Boy is behind the harassment and arrest of our client. He’s abusing the privilege and power he has over him.

“Nothing was sorted when he was first arrested; we only secured his bail. They’re on their way from Imo to Abuja, and we’ll do everything possible to help them. He was arrested during his end-of-the-year musical show in Owerri, Imo State.”

In October, this newspaper reported that the Nigerian Police arrested Speed Darlington in Lagos and transferred him to Abuja, where the Inspector General of Police’s Intelligence Response Team (IRT) detained him in the Guzape area.

He was arrested for allegedly cyberstalking Burna Boy, whose real name is Damini Ogulu. The singer reportedly mocked Burna Boy’s association with American rapper Diddy, who the FBI arrested on multiple charges, including sexual exploitation.

In a video, Speed Darlington challenged Burna Boy to explain how he won the Grammy Award for his fifth album, ‘Twice As Tall’. The album, released on 14 August 2020, was executive-produced by Diddy and Burna Boy’s mother, Bose Ogulu.

He was eventually released after meeting the bail conditions set by the police at the IRT department in Abuja.

Continuous dragging

After his release from police detention, Speed Darlington continued to drag (troll) Burna Boy on his TikTok page.

This newspaper checked Speed Darlington’s TikTok page and found several videos he created to mock Burna Boy.

In one of the videos posted on 31 October, he stated that the only way to end his feud with Burna Boy was for Burna Boy’s mother to publicly apologise to him on social media, just as his mother, Queen, pleaded with Burna Boy.

This newspaper reported that Speed Darlington’s mother, in a video, begged Burna Boy to release his son when he was in detention.

On the other hand, Speed Darlington didn’t stop trolling Burna Boy as he also demanded that the Grammy winner pay him a sum of N12 million.

“If you (Burna Boy) want this issue to end, call your mummy to come on television and beg me, just as my mother kneeled to beg you. It’s simple English. Also, you’ll need to send me N12 million, and then I’ll stop dragging you.

“Tell your mother to kneel and beg me. When my mother was begging you, you were feeling cool. Now, I also want to feel cool with your mother begging me. God punish you, Burna Boy. I need to feel big with your mother on her knees begging me”, he said.

More attacks

In another video released Tuesday, he used AI to alter Burna Boy’s face, announcing that he was going to Africa to claim their souls.

Furthermore, in another video released on Sunday, he stated that he surpassed Burna Boy in every aspect.

Moreover, in a video last week, he superimposed Burna Boy’s face onto his own with the caption, “Burna Girl Grammy oil is ready.”