Rapper Ruggedman has said he had no hand in the arrest of Naira Marley and four others by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC].

Nigerian singer Afeez Fashola, popularly known as Naira Marley, was arrested in Lagos on May 10, which happened to be his birthday.

The ‘Japa’ singer had been in the news recently after his controversial social media posts advocating the cause of internet fraudsters.

During an Instagram live session in April, he had urged Nigerians to pray for internet fraudsters (Yahoo boys) “as they are crucial to the circulation of money in the economy.” Ruggedman, at the time, had cautioned him.

In a statement yesterday, Ruggedman distanced himself from the circumstances surrounding his arrest saying:

“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.”