The Afrobeat musician, Seun Kuti, was detained on Monday at the Lagos State Police headquarters immediately he turned himself in for investigation over alleged assault of a police officer.
The musician, who was accompanied by his lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), and some family members, were immediately handcuffed and his photograph taken by the police.
The spokesman of Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundenyin, in his official Twitter handle on Monday, said: “Afrobeat musician, Seun Kuti, in the early hours of today turned himself in at the Lagos State Police Command Headquarters, Ikeja, in company of his lawyer and family representative. He has been placed under arrest.”
Seun turned himself in after the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, had ordered his arrest for slapping a policeman on the Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos, the video which was in circulation in the social media.
Earlier in the Monday morning, a police team has stormed the Afrobeat musician’s Lagos residence and the African shrine, in Ikeja area of Lagos to arrest him as ordered by the IGP.
Also, the police team was said to have gone to the singer’s place on Saturday night and Sunday morning but did not meet him but Seun, reportedly has gone into hiding.
Meanwhile, Seun’s lawyer, has condemned the way his client was handcuffed and his photograph was displayed publicly despite voluntarily turning himself in for questioning.
The lawyer insisted his client should be presumed innocent until proven otherwise.
In a statement by him, he said: “Following his encounter with a policeman on the Third Mainland Bridge on Saturday the 13th May, 2023, my client, Mr. Seun Kuti reported himself in the office of the Commissioner of Police at the Police Command, Ikeja, at 8.00am today Monday May 15, 2023.
“I accompanied him to the Ikeja police station together with another lawyer, Mr. Femi Akinyemi from Falana and Falana chambers.
“However, there was no interrogation as it was decided he would be moved to the Force Criminal Investigation Unit at Panti, Yaba. Before his movement, Mr. Seun Kuti, was handcuffed and his photograph taken in the open by the Lagos PPRO, Mr. Benjamin Hundeyin who coordinated the parade and apparently shared the photograph of his parade in the media.
“Mr. Kuti is presumed innocent until the contrary is proved by the State. Therefore, the decision of the police to subject him to the media parade violates section 9 of the Lagos State Administration of Criminal Justice Law, which has prohibited any form of parade of criminal suspects in Nigeria in Lagos State.
“The Police is supposed to enforce the Law, but prefers to disrespect and break it so casually and randomly. A Police institution that has no respect for the law it exists to enforce is not a good example to alleged law breakers.
“The decision of the police to handcuff Mr. Kuti is equally illegal as it constitutes a violation of Section 5 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law.
“After handcuffing him, the Police then drove him in a long convoy of heavily armed personnel from Ikeja to Panti Lagos, where he was again displayed for viewing to the men and officers of that police formation, and is currently held.
“We await the next move of the Police on the misdemeanor alleged against Mr. Seun Kuti.”
Also, Seun Kuti’s manager, Ayo Moses, has explained what made his boss slapped the police man on the day of the incident.
The manager, who spoke to newsmen on the incident, said: “On the said day, Seun was driving with his family on the third mainland bridge, when he was suddenly hit from behind, by a police truck being driven by an officer who was reportedly drunk. This act from the officer led Seun’s daughter into a sudden shock, as she was visibly shaken by the hit. So, this made Seun pursue the truck, double-crossed it and forced it to a stop. When the police officer got down from the truck, instead of apologizing, he was arguing with Seun, which provoked him to slap the officer.”
Saying Seun was human after all and that anybody would have reacted the way he did if his family was threatened, the manager told the security officials not to see themselves as above the law, simply because they are in uniforms.
According to him: “People should realize that men in uniforms also provoke civilians. Immunity is no excuse for impunity.”
