- Stan Alieke revealed that he stopped his client, Speed Darlington from apologizing to Burna Boy.
- Alieke said he wouldn’t help Speedy if he wanted to say sorry.
- He noted that because the case is in court, an apology would mean Speed Darlington is accepting blame.
Stan Alieke, the legal representative of Nigerian rapper Darlington Akpacho, popularly known as Speed Darlington, has shared his thoughts on the matter.
Recall that Speed Darlington spent more than two months behind bars after Grammy-winning artist Damini Ogulu, also known as Burna Boy, accused him of defamation.
Following Speed Darlington’s release, Stan Alieke granted an interview to BBC Pidgin.
During the interview, Stan Alieke emphasized that Speed Darlington would not be apologizing to Burna Boy, as this would imply acceptance of blame.
According to him, the police should not have intervened in the matter.
Alieke argued that the case should have been handled through civil action, with the court determining the damages and financial compensation.
With the case still in court, Alieke stressed that it is now up to the judiciary to decide whether Speed Darlington’s actions constitute defamation.
In his words:
“Akpi no go ever beg Burna Boy, we sef, we no go support am because of the things wey he don suffer. He no go even gree if we advise am, I no go even wan advice am. Matter don go court, beg or no beg, it’s now in the jurisdiction of court to determine if wetin him talk, he really defame am or he no defame am. We are begging am mean say he don plead guilty be dat. The petition wey Burna Boy write be say the kain thing wey he don talk against am make am lose international reputation and lose some endorsements. Okay why not go to court and tell court to institute a civil action , the court will equate the damages to financial compensation. But because of the person wey dey involved, they come gather police, police come dey involved. We dey tell police say their hand no suppose dey inside right from time, in fact police suppose grant am administrative bail from when dem arrest am.”