In this article I will be sharing with you 10 Nigerian celebrities who have been sentenced to prison. Some famous Nigerian celebrities have at one time or the other been in trouble with the law. A number of them have been sentenced to prison. It may interest you to know that some of our Nigerian celebrities are ex-convict. Some have been convicted for several crimes and sentenced to prison.
Some of them where ignorant of their crime while some deliberately committed the crime. So therefore after a careful study and research I present to you 10 Nigerian celebrities who have been sentenced to prison.
1. Naira Marley
Azeez Adeshina Fashola is a Nigerian musician popularly known as Naira Marley who was arrested alongside four others for alleged money laundering by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The singer was arrested a day after his hit single “Am I a Yahoo boy” dropped online. He was slammed with 11- count charges. After spending few weeks inside Ikoyi Prison, Naira Marley was arraigned in court and granted bail for N2 million with two sureties. After his release, Marley, in a video which surfaced online said he has been arrested 124 times in the United Kingdom, where he grew up. He rose to fame in 2018 with the remix of ‘Issa goal’ which features Olamide, Falz, Simi and Lil Kesh.
2. Lola Margaret
Nollywood actress, film producer and director, Lola Margaret was reportedly arrested in the United State of America for wired fraud. This report came shortly after Dammy Krane was arrested and detained in similar charges. According to reports, the Yoruba beautiful actress had suspicious amounts of money wired into her bank account. She constantly withdrew the money thereby drawing the attention of police detectives. The police took her in for further interrogations, and she confessed guilty to the alleged card fraud. She was charged to court and sentenced to prison. In 2018, she was released from prison and deported back to Nigeria. Considering the gravity of her actions, the actress has decided to relocate to Ibadan from Lagos, maintaining a low profile. Lola Margaret’s career came into the limelight after she starred as the lead character in the movie, Bisola Alanu.
3. Uche Odoputa
Award-winning Nollywood actor and television personality, Uche Odoputa was arrested with cocaine at the international airport in Lagos in 2007. He was sentenced to eight months in prison. According to him, he wasn’t getting any substantial movie roles and could not afford to feed or accommodate himself and his family. Uche Odoputa said he was introduced into the drug trafficking business because he thought he could drastically change his living conditions. He said his major regret was letting his family down and allowing his London friends take advantage of his situation by convincing him into the act. In an interview, he stated that the late Nollywood producer Amaka Igwe paid part of his legal fees. She was always in contact with him and never abandoned him.
4. Ibinabo Fiberesima
Nollywood beautiful actress and ex-beauty queen, Ibinabo Fiberesima was charged to court for manslaughter and reckless driving after she accidentally killed a certain man named Giwa Suraj in 2006. Giwa Suraj was a medical doctor at the Lagos State Teaching Hospital. She was arraigned in 2009 by a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos. On 16th March 2016, Ibinabo Fiberesima was sacked as President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria and sentenced to 5 years in prison by a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos. She was however granted bail in the sum of N2 million with two sureties on 7th April 2016 by a Court of Appeal in Lagos pending the determination of her appeal at the Supreme Court.
5. Dammy Krane
Popular Nigerian musician, Johnson Oyindamola, popularly known as Dammy Krane was arrested in Florida in the United States of America for charges of theft, fraud and credit card scam on Friday, 2nd June 2017. It was gathered that an American jet company, Tapjets, accused the singer of using five different credit cards which did not belong to him while trying to book a private jet with them. He was released from jail in Miami after meeting his bail conditions set at $7,500, after pleading not guilty to the charges and demanded a trial by jury. The singer was assigned an attorney and was billed to appear in court on 23rd June 2017. In August 2017, American courts struck out all charges including credit card forgery, armed robbery conspiracy and grand theft filed against him.
6. Rabi Ismaila
Kano state-based Nollywood actress, Rabi Ismaila was convicted of murder and sentenced to death for killing her boyfriend, Mr. Ibrahim Auwalu in 2002. She was sentenced to death by hanging for culpable homicide by a Federal High Court sitting in Kano on 5th January 2005. In July 2011, the Supreme Court upheld the sentence of the lower courts that sentenced her to death by hanging. It was revealed that Rabi Ismaila, also known as Rabi Cecilia, had lured her boyfriend Ibrahim Auwalu to a picnic at Tiga Dam, where she poisoned him and pushed him into the dam.
7. Skales
Nigerian hip hop rapper, Raoul John Njeng-Njeng popularly known as Skales was arrested alongside his erstwhile manager Osagie, for defrauding his record label, Baseline Records in 2016. The duos were accused of also diverting the funds meant for the record label. According to Baseline Records, Skales and his manager were making funds that weren’t documented. The rapper was eventually freed from prison but his manager spent longer time in prison before regaining her freedom.
8. Yetunde Wunmi
Nigerian actress Taiwo Akinwande popularly known as Yetunde Wunmi is one of the most notable actresses in the Yoruba movie industry. Yetunde Wunmi was arrested in October 2006 by officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for cocaine trafficking. She was arrested on her way to London as she was about to board a Virgin Atlantic plane at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Ikeja, Lagos, when eagle-eyed NDLEA officials caught her. Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court in Lagos sentenced her to three years imprisonment after she admitted guilty of carrying out the act.
9. Godwon
Nigerian hip hop rapper Neyu Godwon Nyan popularly known as Godwon was arrested in 2009 after his involvement in the burgling of a house in the United States of America. It was gathered that the rapper stole some items from the house which were eventually found in his car. He was arrested for burglary and habitation and locked up for three years in prison. His arrest was filled by Lea Anne Klentzman back then in 2009. He however regained his freedom in 2011. In August 2011, Godwon released his hit single “Evolution”. He also did the remix of his hit single “Too Much Money” alongside with Sinzu and Ikechukwu.
10. Sinzu
Nigerian hip hop rapper Babalola Falemi popularly known by his stage name as Sinzu or Sauce Kid has been sentenced for two years in prison in the United States of America for Aggravated Identity Theft. He was said to have stolen bank card numbers. He also stated that he has stolen over 15 bank cards from people. He had encoded the bank numbers into blank card and changed the account PINs. It was also reported that he had withdrawn cash from ATMs with which he has bought goods from stores in the Idaho business area. It was also gathered that Police found a card encoding device and a sum of $6000 with him. This was the third time reports have revealed that he has been in Police custody. In 2014, he was declared wanted for stealing $300 from a supermarket ATM.
According to Idaho statement, the rapper was charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and identity theft. He was also accused of eight counts charges bothering on bank fraud, identity theft and possession of several fraudulent bank cards. He pleaded guilty to one of the counts of aggravated identity theft after the other charges were dropped. He was jailed for two years in prison for identity theft. On Sunday 25th March 2018, he was released from prison.
