Assault: Seun Kuti spends night in custody, police set to arraign him
The Lagos State Police Command on Monday reiterated that Afrobeat musician, Seun Kuti, will be taken to court for arraignment for assaulting a policeman on duty in Lagos on Saturday as captured in a viral video.
The Police Public Relations Officer in Lagos, Benjamin Hundeyin, told The PUNCH that the musician, who turned himself in on Monday, was handcuffed and detained, would spend the night in custody.
“Seun Kuti is still in our custody; he’ll be arraigned once investigation is concluded,” Hundeyin confirmed the development to our correspondent in a telephone interview on Monday night.
The PUNCH reports that Seun, the youngest son of the late Afrobeat legend, Fela Kuti, submitted himself at the State Criminal Investigation Department, popularly known as Panti, in Yaba, Lagos State, on Monday morning.
He was accompanied by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, alongside a lawyer from Falana and Falana Chambers, Femi Akinyemi.
The police released a video clip and pictures showing the musician in handcuffs while being paraded by police officers at the SCID, Lagos.
Trouble began on Saturday when a video of the musician assaulting a police officer on the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos State went viral.
In the 12-second video, Kuti, who wore a red shirt and a white pair of trousers, was seen pushing a policeman, who stood beside a Toyota Hilux police van. He then proceeded to slap the cop, as he shouted, “You dey craze, you dey mad?”
A motorist, who filmed the incident from his car, was heard saying, “Omo na Kuti o. Na better news be this o.”
The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, reacting, ordered the arrest of the singer.
But Seun Kuti, in a social media post on Saturday, alleged that the policeman in question made an attempt on his life and those of his family members.
However, our correspondent reliably gathered on Monday that the singer had later apologised to the policeman and offered him N12,000 to repair his (policeman’s) damaged vehicle.
According to sources privy to the development, the policeman trailed Seun Kuti to his Akin Osiyemi residence off Allen Avenue, Ikeja. Punch
