News: I Have No Hands In Naira Marley's Arrest - Ruggedman

Ruggedman has made a move that has shown how desperately he wishes to distance himself from the arrest of singers Naira Marley and Zlatan Ibile by the men of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

You all would recall after the arrest of the singers on Friday, 10th of May, 2019 at their home in the Ikate area of Lekki, Lagos, Ruggedman went on a media round discussing the issue as well as putting it in the consciousness of people that fraud is forbidden.

However, in one of the dates he had with the media organizations, Ruggedman revealed he was happy when he woke up to the new that the singers have been picked up by the EFCC.

And since that revelation by Ruggedman, the rapper has been the subject of abuse and criticism among music fans. Many have slammed the singer for coming out to make such a statement as they believe even though prior to the arrest of the singers, Naira Marley disrespected him, he should never have said such and just stayed mute and observe how the situation turns out to be at the end.

However, Ruggedman in a statement he released yesterday has revealed he knows nothing about the arrest of the rapper and that even though he rubbed his face in the mud, he still had and has nothing against him.

He wrote; “My fellow Nigerians and the Distinguished members of the Press, I have read and heard all sorts of comments pertaining to the Naira Marley case and seen the misinformation making the rounds which is quite unfortunate to say the least

I do not know Naira Marley personally, the same way I do not know the over 300 Nigerians I have gotten justice for against police brutality. I do it because it is who I am.

All I did was caution a young artist, who has influence, against making utterances about an issue that by global standard is considered a crime. I believe correcting this was the way to go as an elder, but got insulted for this even by those being misled

I never responded to Naira Marley’s invectives nor those of his fans, same way I have not responded to any of the negative comments from social media

I note that saying I was “happy in a way” about his arrest has evidently frayed some nerves and for that I apologise. It was in hope that it would serve as deterrent for persons who might consider the said ills or need to make a u-turn. .

It by no means was intended to wish for his downfall. It perhaps was not a good choice of word in hindsight. I do not look forward to anyone’s downfall but rather hope we all learn from the situation.

I hereby state categorically that I had nothing to do with his arrest. We all must recall that he glorified fraud on a public platform where security agencies like the Police, NDLEA and EFCC are also on.

I am sure they saw his posts and captions the same way we all did. I, however, was the one that cautioned him. I guess this was what led all the darts and arrows my way as a literal mortal retribution to my person.

Despite the disrespect to my person, I got nothing against him and only longed for him to be discerning and utilise his position of influence appropriately.”