Ruggedman, Sunny Neji And Others Arrested Over Alleged PMAN Burglary And Theft (DETAILS)

Nigerian rapper Ruggedman (Michael Ugochukwu Stephens) and veteran artists Sunny Neji, Zakky Azzay, Boniface Itodo, and Raymond Lasisi have been arrested over suspicions of burglary, th£ft, and criminal trespass at the national secretariat of the Performing Musicians Employers’ Association of Nigeria (PMAN) in Lekki, Lagos.

The group is accused of illegally entering PMAN’s headquarters in August 2024 while President Pretty Okafor was on official duty abroad.

According to a petition filed by Okafor’s legal team, the musicians -described as suspended or expelled members-allegedly stole $130,000 in cash and two MacBook Pros during the break-in.
The controversy became serious when the group, allegedly ignored a leadership reinstatement by MAN’s National Executive Council, orchestrated another entry on May 8, 2025, reclaiming control of the secretariat amid police warnings to maintain the status quo. This ammounted to their re-arrest.

PMAN, in an official statement, insisted the case goes beyond internal disputes. “This is not a union rivalry,” the statement read. “It’s about criminal actions. They’ve been cautioned before and refused to comply with police investigations.” The association stressed that investigations are now completed and prosecution is the next step.

As of writing, none of the accused musicians have come out to address the public on this matter.