Veteran entertainer and activist Charly Boy has stunned fans by admitting to white-collar crime in America in his twenties and a string of “foolish mistakes,” ahead of the release of his unfiltered memoir, 999.
Charles Oputa — better known as Charly Boy, the self-styled “Area Fada” who has spent decades provoking, performing and protesting — has pulled back the curtain on a past that even his most devoted followers may not have seen coming. In a candid interview on Arise Prime Time, the veteran entertainer admitted to theft, white-collar crime and a long string of dangerous decisions, all of which he says are laid bare in his upcoming memoir, 999.
“I’ve made mistakes in my life,” he said plainly. “I’ve been a thief. I’ve done very risky things. I’ve done very stupid things, very foolish things. In fact, I have no business being here with you tonight, but I guess there’s a purpose for my life.”
The biggest revelation? A stint in white-collar crime while living in the United States in his mid-twenties.
“I was doing white-collar crime when I was in America. I was about 25 years old. I was doing a lot of stupid stuff. That’s why I say I’ve been there.”
Rather than sanitise his story, Charly Boy says he chose radical honesty for 999 — describing it as “a terrible kind of book” that holds nothing back.
“I don’t leave anything out. The only few things I left out were because I genuinely couldn’t remember them. Otherwise, everything is there.”
But the memoir isn’t just confession — it’s transformation. The title 999, he explains, signals a new chapter entirely, a deliberate departure from the provocateur image that defined him for decades.
“Old things have passed away. This is a new beginning for me. All I want now is peace and tranquillity.”
Age and illness have clearly shifted his perspective. According to The Sun, Charly Boy also opened up about surviving prostate cancer, saying the experience drove him to break the silence around men’s health in Nigeria.
“I wanted to free a lot of men because we’ve been brainwashed into believing men don’t cry and shouldn’t talk about what they’re going through.”
From troublemaker to truth-teller — Charly Boy’s next act may be his most powerful yet.
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