Davido and Hushpuppi
Afrobeat star Davido has said he was unaware that his former friend, Ramon Abbas, known as Hushpuppi, was involved in fraud.
Speaking in a recent podcast interview, Davido admitted he knew Hushpuppi but did not know about his criminal activities.
“Hushpuppi was my friend. I just saw him around; I never really knew what he was doing,” Davido said.
The “Awuke” hitmaker also expressed sympathy for Hushpuppi, who is serving more than 11 years in prison in the United States for fraud.
“Hushpuppi is coming out soon. He lived life. To me, it is not worth it to be locked up. But let me not make excuses for them. Some people are happy to ball for five years and that is it,” he added.
Davido also spoke about how poverty in Nigeria pushes some people into crime. “In Nigeria, there is a kind of hardship you would face and you’ll be like, you know what? Let me ball for two years then I am good,” he explained.
Hushpuppi was arrested in Dubai in 2020 and later pleaded guilty to money laundering. He was sentenced in 2022 and ordered to pay $1.7 million to his victims.