Court orders Seun’s detention

•Granted N1m bail; to be released after 48 hours

•Family in closed door meeting with Police authorities 

•Seun’s lawyer accuses Police of media trial

A Sabo-Yaba Chief Magistrates’ Court, Lagos State, yesterday, ordered the remand of afrobeat singer, Seun Kuti, for allegedly assaulting a police officer on the Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos.

The presiding Chief Magistrate, Mrs. Adeola Olatubosun, however, said that Seun should be released after 48 hours from Police custody.

Mrs. Olatubosun gave the order, after the Police arraigned Seun before the court, for assault.

This came as the Kuti family members, yesterday, had a closed door meeting with Police authorities in Lagos. 

Kuti’s lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, yesterday, also accused the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hudenyin, of media trial.

Arraignment

During his arraignment, yesterday, the Investigating Police Officer, IPO, Mr. Lekan Ogundare, told the court that Kuti committed the offence of assault on Saturday, May 13, on the Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos.

He said that the defendant drove dangerously on the bridge and deliberately blocked a moving police vehicle.

He alleged that the defendant slapped Inspector Mohammed Aminu, attached to the Police Training College, Ikeja, while on official movement and in Police uniform. Ogundare said that the defendant slapped Aminu several times on his face.

Kuti, however, pleaded not guilty to the allegation. 

After his plea, a legal officer of the Police, Mr. S. A. Adebeshin, brought the attention of the court to his application for the defendant to be remanded for 21 days, to enable further investigation in the case.

Responding, counsel to the defendant, Mr. Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, said that he was not aware of the application for his client’s remand.

Reacting, another member of the Police legal team, Mr. M. Animashaun, submitted that there should be temporary deprivation of liberty of the defendant, for purposes of investigation.

He said that Kuti’s alleged victim had been on medical treatment.

However, Olumide-Fusika argued that Kuti handed himself over to the police and should not be remanded on such grounds.

He prayed the court to grant Kuti bail, promising that the defendant would show up whenever needed. 

Ruling

In her ruling after a short recess, Chief Magistrate Olatubosun held that Kuti should be remanded for 48 hours in police custody.

She, however, held that the defendant should be admitted to bail in the sum of N1million with two sureties in like sum, at the end of the 48-hour remand.

She said that one of the sureties must be a landlord within the jurisdiction of the court. She adjourned the case until May 22 for mention.

The Chief Magistrate directed the prosecutor to duplicate the case file and forward a copy to the state director of public prosecutions for advice.

Family storms SCIID

Earlier, Seun’s elder brother, Femi, and his son, Made, yesterday, stormed the State Criminal Investigations and Intelligence Department, SCIID, Panti, Yaba and were in a closed door meeting for hours with Police authorities.

The family team which also included Seun’s wife reportedly met with the Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP, in-charge of Panti.

Though details of what transpired at the meeting could not be ascertained, reliably sources said Femi pleaded that Seun lost his band members and that the incident affected his action during that encounter with the police.

According to sources, Femi stated categorically that things are so bad in the country now that Seun has been badly affected by the desertion of his band by his members.  

The source also disclosed that Femi lamented that he was not also finding things easy personally, stating that “after the CBN told everybody to deposit money in the bank, we deposited all we had there but up till now, we have not been able to get our monies back. I cannot even take care of my needs because of the scarce resources I am going through now.”

Vanguard gathered that after the lamentations, he was simply told that investigations are still in progress and the truth of the matter will be made open.  

It could not ascertain if the family member later met with Seun but sources disclosed that he was taken out from his cell with his jean trousers folded up to his knees into an interrogation room and later returned to the cell.  

Seun’s lawyer accuses Police of media trial

Meanwhile, Kuit’s lawyer,  Mr Olumide-Fusika, SAN has accused the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hudenyin of personally taking the responsibility of  investigating the matter himself  and releasing the report  to a media house.

Olumide-Fasika in a statement issued yesterday, said: "Mr. Seun Kuti would have expected that having completed his investigative work, Mr. Benjamin Hundeyin, a law enforcer, would proceed according to law by sending the file containing his report of investigation for legal evaluation towards possible prosecution.“

The investigative  report which he accused Hundenyin of divulging to the media house, was  according to the statement, that “Seun Kuti was the one that bashed the officer’s vehicle, and the policeman followed him to call his attention to it, but the musician alighted from his car and slapped the policeman as seen in the trending video. However, the officer reported the incident at the Police Command in Ikeja.

“The policeman was alone. After the altercation, he followed Seun Kuti to his home in Ikeja, and the musician apologised to him and gave him N12,000 to repair his damaged vehicle.

“But the officer reported the incident at the Area F Police Command in Ikeja, and deposited the N12,000 at the counter, while he gave a written statement concerning the incident,”

He further stated that “Although he had been with the Police since 8:00am on Monday  May 15, 2023, Mr. Seun Kuti noted that it was at about 8:00pm that day, after Mr. Benjamin Hundeyin had already completed and published his investigative report , that he was asked to make a statement to the Police at the State  Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba.

“Mr. Seun Kuti has, therefore, volunteered to his interlocutors a statement to the effect that since Mr. Benjamin Hundeyin has already done the investigation and issued and published his report on it, there was no useful purpose to be served any statement by Hundeyin. He will, at the right time and place, and in as rigorous a manner possible under the law, defend himself against Mr. Hundeyin’s published ‘investigative findings.

"The consequence of this for Mr. Seun Kuti was that his wife was refused the “privilege” of delivering a meal to him in the evening of Monday, May 15, 2023, even though there was no other arrangement in place to have him fed. We await the next move of the Police on the allegation of crime against Mr. Seun Kuti.

Security beefed up at the SCIID

Meanwhile, security has been beefed up at the SCIID, Panti, Yaba, following the detention of Kuti at the Police Unit.