Nigerian Afrobeats star D’banj has been arrested over allegations of fraud after millions of dollars meant to help unemployed youths start businesses were reported missing.
The artist, who has claimed to be the brand ambassador for the scheme, has turned himself in.
The N-Power initiative was launched in 2016 by President Muhammadu Buhari.
But many beneficiaries have complained for months that they were not receiving their grants.
Nigeria’s anti-corruption agencies said in a statement on Wednesday that “billions of naira” had been diverted.
Lawyers representing D’banj – whose real name is Oladapo Daniel Oyebanjo – have denied a claim by the anti-corruption agency that their client had ignored multiple summons.
They said the artist willingly turned himself in on Tuesday and that he will cooperate with the investigation.
More than two million Nigerians aged between 18 and 35 have benefited from the N-Power scheme since it was launched, according to the government.
At least 280bn naira ($629m; £516m) was distributed in 2019 to beneficiaries who started small businesses, the authorities said.
Ten other people, as well as D’banj are being investigated, the anti-corruption agency said.
“The investigation will be all-encompassing and also be extended to other collaborators of the fraud and the banks where the beneficiaries’ accounts are domiciled,” a statement read.
The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, which oversees N-Power, said it had no official engagement with the artist and that his claims to be an ambassador for the scheme was misleading.
D’banj says he has “no business with fraud” after his lawyer says he was released from custody by the Nigerian anti-corruption agency – the ICPC.
He was arrested earlier this week on allegations of fraud after millions of dollars meant to help unemployed youths start businesses was reported missing.
“I have assisted the commission with all I know”, D’Banj said on Instagram.
“I am confident in their capacity to unravel the truth,” he continued.
D’banj also added that he has been released on “self-recognition”, which means he did not have to post bail before being allowed to go free.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the ICPC has told the BBC that “investigations are ongoing”.
The artist – whose real name is Oladapo Daniel Oyebanjo – has claimed to be the brand ambassador for the youth business scheme.
However, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, which oversees the N-Power scheme, said it had no official engagement with the artist and that his claim to be an ambassador for the scheme was misleading.
N-Power was launched in 2016 by President Muhammadu Buhari.
But many beneficiaries have complained for months that they were not receiving their grants.
Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency said in a statement on Wednesday that “billions of naira” had been diverted.
Ten other people, as well as D’banj, are being investigated, the agency previously said.
D’banj’s lawyer said it was an “embarrassment to the entire country that such a huge allegation [was made] against a public figure without any evidence”.
D’banj’s 2012 hit Oliver Twist won him fans across the continent and in the diaspora.