Ruggedman Arraigned in $130,000 Theft Case, Sunny Neji and Zakky Azzay Wanted by Police
Ruggedman, a Nigerian rapper, and three other people were arraigned Friday at Yaba Magistrate Court 1, Lagos, on charges of burglary, conspiracy, and theft of $130,000 from the national secretariat of the Performing Musicians Employers’ Association of Nigeria (PMAN) in Lekki.
Following a petition submitted by PMAN’s attorneys on behalf of Pretty Okafor, the association’s national president, on May 12, 2025, the arraignment took place.
The defendants are Faga Bem-Paul, Boniface Itodo, Fruitful Mekwunye, and Ruggedman (Michael Stephens), according to police sources.
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According to reports at the time of writing, Sunny Neji and Zakky Azzay were still at large.
Cybercrimes, conspiracy, and breaking and entering are among the charges presently pending in court, according to sources who spoke to SaharaReporters. Police have confirmed that the charge sheet will be changed at the subsequent hearing. Currently, Ruggedman and the others are being held.
The defendants, who were identified in the petition as suspended or fired PMAN officers, were accused of illegally suspending Pretty Okafor and taking over the union’s operations during his official travel to Spain in August 2024.
In addition to taking two Apple MacBook Pro laptops and $130,000 in cash, they were accused of breaking and entering the PMAN secretariat, which was situated at 4B Hameed Kasumu Street, Chevy View Estate, Lekki.
A parallel leadership was allegedly installed by the suspects at an unapproved National Delegates Conference. Using an address that was not recognized as PMAN’s registered office, a contentious consent ruling obtained at the National Industrial Court supported this.
In the petition, Okafor’s group claimed that the decision in suit NICN/LA/360/2024 was unlawful since they were not served with any court documents. Okafor was then re-elected as president when the PMAN National Executive Council declared the suspended members’ acts to be invalid.
The accused allegedly returned to the secretariat on May 8, 2025, and resumed occupation in defiance of orders from a high-level police meeting at Force Headquarters, Abuja, which was purportedly conducted by DCP Akin Fakorede and urged both camps to maintain the status quo.
Concerningly, the suspects were accused of fabricating police support for their acts by claiming permission from the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, a charge the petitioners called “deeply disturbing.”
As well as a certificate from the Registrar of Trade Unions confirming Pretty Okafor’s legitimacy as PMAN’s president, the petitioners claimed to have photographic and video proof of the break-ins.
