Singer Flavour Reacts To Man Bagging Jail term For Impersonating Him

The singer Chinedu Okoli, also known as Flavour N’abania, responded to the news that Courage Ikpaka, pictured above (right), had been sentenced to two years in prison by the Federal High Court in Lagos for impersonating him and defrauding an American woman named Yvelte M. Thompson of $53,000.

According to AIB, on Tuesday, September 3, Justice Dehinde Dipeolu found Ikpaka guilty after he entered a plea of guilty to the two-count charge brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Suleiman Suleiman, the prosecution counsel, led EFCC investigator Azibagiri Dan Ekpar through the evidence against the defendant. During the trial, the witness testified that Ipaka impersonated Flavour by promising to organise shows in the United States of America and accepting payment via his Bitcoin wallet. Ekpar explained that the EFCC got wind of the fraud following a petition written by one Eyitayo Tolulope Abiodun and others on behalf of the victim.

“We invited Flavour who honoured the invitation and claimed innocence of the allegations. Upon investigation, we discovered that one Ipaka Courage who lives in Benin City was the perpetrator. We invited the defendant, and he admitted in his statement that he impersonated Flavour by obtaining the sum of $53,000 from a woman who is a United States Citizen in 2021. He wired the funds through Bitcoin wallets and converted them in his Bank account where he received the value in Naira. The sum of N7.9m Naira was recovered from the defendant through Zenith and Access Bank manager’s cheques.”

Judge Dipeolu sentenced Ipaka to two years in prison with the option of a fine of N2 million after the defendant entered a guilty plea and after considering the prosecution’s evidence against him. The judge also forfeited the N7.9 million that was recovered from the convict to Mrs. Thompson.

Flavour responded to the news by posting a photo of the impersonator on his X handle.

‘’One down. Ndi uchu!”

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli