- Habeeb Okikiola, known as Portable, publicly criticized Speed Darlington in an Instagram video posted on Friday.
- Portable’s outburst follows Speed Darlington’s alleged confession in a viral Instagram Live video, where he claimed to have engaged in sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl.
Controversial artist Portable, whose actual name is Habeeb Okikiola, has openly criticized Speed Darlington in an Instagram video shared on Friday.
Portable’s tirade follows Speed Darlington’s purported admission in a viral Instagram Live video, where he asserted that he had engaged in sexual relations with a 15-year-old girl.
He juxtaposed Darlington’s behavior with the common stereotype that Igbo men are typically providers and caretakers for women, accusing Darlington of taking advantage of a minor and asserting that he should be imprisoned.
He stated, “This man called Speed Darling, aka Akpi is a disgrace to Igbo men. He is the first Igbo man who is lazy. An Igbo man would pay before sleeping with you. You will eat chicken, fish, and sleep well…Igbo men take care of women. They have money.
Speed Darlington, whose real name is Darlington Okoye, encountered significant backlash following his initial video, in which he recounted an encounter with a 15-year-old virgin at a hotel, mentioning blood-stained sheets and paying hotel staff N2,000 to replace them.
The confession, delivered in Igbo, incited outrage on social media, with users denouncing his actions as rape and calling for legal repercussions.
In reaction to the backlash, Darlington asserted in a subsequent video that the confession was merely a publicity tactic to promote his new song, characterizing it as a “prank” or “cruise” intended to create controversy for attention.
He expressed remorse to his followers but ignited further outrage with a contentious remark, stating that had he known mentioning 15 would provoke such a reaction, he would have claimed the girl was 12 instead.
He also raised the question of whether the backlash would have arisen had the incident occurred in Northern Nigeria, alluding to cultural variances in marriage customs.
The Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA) and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) have commenced investigations.
The DSVA denounced the act as troubling and referred the issue to NAPTIP because of jurisdictional constraints, given that Darlington did not clarify the location of the incident.
NAPTIP called him in for questioning on May 30, 2025, at their headquarters in Abuja, cautioning that noncompliance could result in additional legal consequences. (The Nation)
