Sam Larry, who fled to Kenya after video showed him assaulting Mohbad, released a video statement dismissing accusations against him. Nigerian police named Larry a suspect after the footage of him beating Mohbad surfaced.

“Don’t use me to trend,” Larry asserted in the video recording circulated online. He maintained his innocence, insisting he had not harmed Mohbad and did not know the cause of his death.

Larry remains at large overseas. His combative denial comes after many fans called for his arrest in Mohbad’s suspicious passing, pointing to him as a culprit.

However, Larry refused culpability and warned the public against making him a “scapegoat.” He theorized that people were using him for “clout” amidst the high-profile case.