Veteran Nigerian rapper Ruggedman (Michael Ugochukwu Stephens) has firmly denied recent reports claiming his arrest over alleged financial misconduct alongside fellow musicians Zaki Azzay, Sunny Neji, Boniface Itodo, and Fega Michaels.
In a video posted on his social media, Ruggedman called the news outright false and labeled it a smear campaign orchestrated by Pretty Okafor, the suspended former president of the Performing Musicians Employers’ Association of Nigeria (P-Man).
Ruggedman revealed the controversy stems from a petition accusing them of missing funds from the P-Man office—claims that remain unproven. He emphasized that the petition came right after the National Working Committee (which includes him and others) suspended Pretty Okafor for illegal actions within the union. “The same people who suspended him are the ones he wrote a petition against,” Ruggedman explained.
He also highlighted that some accused artists were not even in Lagos when the case broke and warned media outlets spreading false news to retract or face defamation suits. Ruggedman stressed the innocence of all involved and urged Nigerians not to allow one person’s actions to damage the reputation of hardworking musicians.
Ruggedman, Sunny Neji & Others Arrested Over Alleged PMAN Office Break-In