Controversial Nigerian singer Speed Darlington has tendered an apology to the general public after facing backlash following a disturbing viral video in which he confesses to a sexual encounter with a minor.

Naija Trend Compass reports that Darlington during a live Instagram session recounted an encounter with a 15-year-old girl at a Lagos hotel.

According to the singer, during the session, he paid N2,000 to the hotel staff to change the sheets after which expressed disdain for working for others, especially in hotels.

The video sparked an outrage with many Nigerians calling for his arrest. In response, the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA) and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) says it has begun investigating the singer.

However, in a follow-up video shared on his Instagram page on Wednesday, Speed Darlington claimed that the confession was fabricated as part of a publicity stunt to promote his latest song.

He described the controversial remarks as “cruise” and insisted they were never meant to be taken seriously.

He explained, “All my followers pissed off about the video I recorded in which I spoke about me sleeping with a 15-year-old, I am an artiste. I need controversy to eat. If you are not trending, you are not getting booked. Simple! Nobody is booking something that is not trending”.

He further elaborated, “I have a new song now. The song is talking about f#ck this, f#ck that. This is my genre. I do not perform Christian music. When I dropped my song, I needed f#ck contents to push it. That is what I was doing. Don’t give it more than it is supposed to have. If any of you are offended, it’s alright. Apologies”.