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Sh*ckwaves: Police Drag Ruggedman To Court Over $130,000 Theft – Music Stars Declared Wanted
Nigerian rapper Michael Ugochukwu Stephens, widely known as Ruggedman, was arraigned on Friday at Yaba Magistrate Court 1 in Lagos, along with three others, on charges of burglary, conspiracy, and the theft of $130,000 from the national secretariat of the Performing Musicians Employers’ Association of Nigeria (PMAN) in Lekki.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
The arraignment stems from a petition dated May 12, 2025, filed by PMAN’s legal team on behalf of the association’s National President, Pretty Okafor.
According to police sources, the defendants include Ruggedman (Michael Stephens), Fruitful Mekwunye, Boniface Itodo, and Faga Bem-Paul. Two other individuals, Sunny Neji and Zakky Azzay, have been declared at large.
The charges brought before the court encompass conspiracy, unlawful entry, and cybercrime-related offenses. Authorities indicated that the charge sheet would be updated during the next court session. All named defendants are currently in police custody.
The petition alleges that the accused—identified as suspended or dismissed PMAN officials—exploited President Pretty Okafor’s absence during his official trip to Spain in August 2024 to suspend him unlawfully and take control of the association’s operations.
They are accused of forcibly entering the PMAN secretariat at 4B Hameed Kasumu Street, Chevy View Estate, Lekki, where they allegedly stole $130,000 in cash and two Apple MacBook Pro laptops.
Further allegations claim the group convened an unauthorized National Delegates Conference to install a parallel leadership, legitimized through a disputed consent judgment from the National Industrial Court. The ruling was reportedly obtained using an unrecognized address not registered to PMAN.
According to the petition, Okafor’s faction was not served any legal documentation, and thus considers the ruling in case NICN/LA/360/2024 to be invalid. The PMAN National Executive Council later reversed all actions taken by the suspended members and reinstated Okafor as president.
Despite orders from a high-level police meeting at Force Headquarters in Abuja—chaired by DCP Akin Fakorede—directing both parties to maintain the status quo, the accused allegedly returned to the PMAN secretariat on May 8, 2025, and resumed occupation.
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