The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) said it would not agree to the proposal of the controversial Nigerian entertainer, Darlington Okoye, popularly known as Speed Darlington, to appear at its Abuja headquarters on 26 June 2025.
The agency also hinted at collaboration with sister agencies, including the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), to ensure Okoye answered for his claim of having intimacy with a 15-year-old girl.
NAPTIP had summoned Okoye over his claim of having carnal knowledge of the girl during a live Instagram video.
The clip quickly went viral, triggering outrage from viewers and women’s-rights groups which accused him of confessing to statutory rape.
Within 24 hours, the backlash drew official attention as the Lagos State Government reported the matter to NAPTIP, which summoned Okoye for questioning.
A letter by the agency’s Head of Cybercrime Response Team, Ngamaraju Mangzha, and addressed to Okoye, asked the singer to appear at its Abuja head office at 09:00 am on 30 May.
The PUNCH who visited the agency’s headquarters confirmed that the singer did not show up at NAPTIP’s Wuse Zone 5 office.
Later, NAPTIP said it received an official response from Okoye, who claimed he could not visit.
He insisted on appearing on 26 June.
Okoye said, ‘Hello, I will not be able to come in today. This is very sudden and urgent for me. I already have commitments and responsibilities. I suggest you reschedule for next month, 26 June. I will be in Abuja that day’.
NAPTIP replied Okoye in a letter by its Director of Information and Communications Technology and Coordinator, Cybercrime Response Team, Hakeem Lawal.
Lawal wrote, ‘The Agency wishes to state that the invitation was sent to you on Wednesday, 28 May 2025, giving you sufficient time to prepare and appear as indicated. Moreover, the issue at hand is of urgent national importance and requires an urgent response.
‘As such, NAPTIP will not be able to work with your schedule as stated in your response. However, you are further given till Monday, 2 June 2025 at 1:00 pm, to appear in person at the NAPTIP’s Headquarters: 2028, Dalaba Crescent, Wuse Zone 5, FCT, Abuja, for the interview.
‘Please, as stated in our earlier correspondence, your cooperation is very critical in this matter’.
Sunday PUNCH gathered that Okoye did not appear for questioning that Monday.
An official who spoke on condition of anonymity said legal actions appeared probable as the singer had missed two appointments.
The official also stated that while NAPTIP was still weighing its options, it would not accept Okoye’s proposed 26 June date.
‘He has responded on two occasions, giving reasons for not coming. We will not work with his timing; we will soon come out with our position on this. No one is free in the eyes of the law’, the official said.
Another official explained, ‘NAPTIP wrote to him, inviting him. First time, he replied that we should give him till 26 June. He wrote to us “Look, I cannot come because of this and that”. The agency wrote back again to him that this issue is a matter of national importance that requires urgency.
‘The agency will not work with your schedule. He replied again that he will insist on sticking to that date. Now, the agency is studying the situation. When we are making a decision like that, we usually consult with the relevant departments, and taking into consideration the legal implications of our action.
‘Don’t forget, even if we say we are taking him to court, they’ve been on strike, they just called it off. So, we are considering our options. But the management is reviewing his response so that we can take a very informed decision’.
When asked if measures were in place to prevent Okoye from fleeing the country, NAPTIP’s Chief Press Officer, Mr Vincent Adekoye, said the agency is ‘working with all sister agencies’ to ensure his appearance in Abuja.
‘NAPTIP is a proactive agency. We have activated the necessary partnership on this. We are collaborating with sister law enforcement agencies. NAPTIP is exploring all elements to ensure that he comes to answer for what he said. We are not taking chances. We are working with all state and non-state actors on this matter’, Adekoye stated.
