Kuti and his counsel, as well as prosecution team, were in court but the court could not sit due to Olatubosun’s absence.

Proceedings in the case will continue on September 27.

The case was earlier adjourned until July 3 for advice of the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP.

The Police brought Kuti to the court on May 16, and charged him with assaulting a police officer.

He allegedly committed the offence on May 13 on the Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos State.

The police charged him with slapping an inspector after driving dangerously on the bridge and deliberately blocking a moving police vehicle.

Olatubosun consequently ordered Kuti’s remand for 48 hours.

She, however, held that the singer should be admitted to bail in the sum of N1 million with two sureties in like sum, at the end of the 48-hour remand.

She ordered that one of the sureties must be a landlord within the jurisdiction of the court.

She directed the prosecutor to duplicate the case file and forward a copy to the DPP for advice.

On May 18, the chief magistrate extended Kuti’s remand for additional four days.

Olatubosun extended Kuti’s remand until May 22, after granting an application by the police  for the extension.

According to the Police, the extension was to allow further investigation into the case.

On May 24, the court refused to grant an application by the police to formally arraign Kuti.

Mr Cyril Ejiofor, who led a police legal team to the court, had applied for the arraignment but Kuti’s counsel, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), opposed the application.

Falana argued that the police refused to send the case file to the DPP for advice, as directed by Olatubosun.

He urged the court not to let the police prosecute and investigate at the same time.

In her ruling, Olatubosun held that she needed the DPP’s advice before proceeding with the case.

She adjourned the case until July 3.

Source: NAN

The post Proceedings in Seun Kuti’s assault case stalled appeared first on Frontpageng.

Kuti, who was released from custody on Tuesday night, had been on remand for six days on the orders of the court.

The police had on May 16 applied for remand of the musician over alleged assault on a police officer.

On Wednesday, Mr Cyril Ejiofor, who led a police legal team to the court, applied to the court to allow arraignment of the singer.

He said that the application was to formally bring charges against Kuti.

Kuti’s counsel, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), however, opposed the application.

He argued that the police refused to send the case file to Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP, for advice, as directed by the Chief Magistrate, Mrs Adeola Olatubosun.

He urged the court not to let the police to prosecute and investigate at the same time.

Falana urged that the order given by the court should not be disregarded.

“The police should duplicate the case and transfer it for DPP’s advice,” Falana said.

In her ruling, Olatubosun held that she needed the DPP’s advice before proceeding with the case.

She adjourned the case until July 3 for mention.

The police alleged that Kuti assaulted a police officer on May 13 on  the Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos State.

According to the police, Kuti slapped an inspector after driving dangerously on the bridge and deliberately blocking a moving police vehicle.

Source: NAN

The post Court refuses application for Seun Kuti’s arraignment appeared first on Frontpageng.

Seun Kuti who regained his freedom on Tuesday after about eight days in detention.

The purpose of the proceeding, it was gathered, was to receive the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP)’s advice.

The police in Lagos State charged the musician to court for slapping a policeman in uniform.

Seun had, in a video, accused the policeman of bashing his car hence the assault.

Seun Kuti was said to have violated Section Section 356 of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act, by his action.

The post Alleged assault: Seun Kuti to appear in court today appeared first on Frontpageng.

Seun Anikulapo Kuti, son of the late Fela Anikulapo Kuti, has been in the news lately for the wrong reason. The 40-year-old musician was seen in a viral video last week engaging in a hot argument with a policeman on Third Mainland Bridge. Within the twinkle of an eye, Seun landed the policeman a dirty slap on his cheek. Seun forgot, or was not aware that citizen journalism has come to stay in Nigeria. With just a phone, anyone could record for posterity, what is happening in their domain. That incident was captured with a phone camera. The stunned officer was in a state of shock as he could only open his mouth and even words failed him at that point in time.

What led to the exchange, we were later told, was a minor traffic infraction between the duo. Seun felt threatened that the officer, at that particular time, constituted a threat to his life and those of his family, who were with him at the time of the incident. Some motorists reportedly later pacified Seun, and pleaded with the officer to let the matter rest.

Seun, by his action, played into the hands of the police and he is now being tossed up and down. He did not manage his anger well.

But the video of the encounter soon went viral on social media. Many Nigerians were stupefied that Seun could actually slap a police officer in uniform. The anger of most Nigerians forced the Inspector General of Police to order the arrest of Seun Kuti. Gingered by the arrest order from Abuja, the police in Lagos went on an overdrive and stormed Seun’s residence in a commando-like manner.

Sensing that the tide was quickly turning against him, Seun ran to Femi Falana, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), to brief him before going underground, at least briefly. By the time the arrest party got to his house, he was nowhere to be found. But his lawyer advised him to give himself up, which he eventually did by reporting to the office of the Commissioner of Police the following day in company of his lawyer, where he was arrested, handcuffed, his mug shot taken, and later paraded alongside other criminals by the police.

He was later arraigned before a Magistrate, where the police sought a 21-day remand order against him but at the end of the proceeding, the court gave the police 48 hours to hold on to Kuti to enable them to conclude their investigations after which the musician must be granted bail. However, the Police, known for their various antics, sought for further extension from the same court without the knowledge of Seun’s lawyer, and now have Seun for another four days.

READ ALSO: INEC, Mahmood Yakubu and history, By Kazeem Akintunde

Seun, by his action, played into the hands of the police and he is now being tossed up and down. He did not manage his anger well. His late father would not have slapped a police officer in such a circumstance. Abami Eda would have used his music to tear the officer into ‘pieces’. Fela would have come up with an LP to denounce the incident on the Third Mainland Bridge and yab the police to high heavens.

Seun was still a toddler when Fela had his own encounter with the men in uniform. He never fought back but went ahead to record several songs to lambast the institution and others in positions of authority who were using their influence daily to oppress the poor masses. Seun Kuti must have heard of his grandmother, the late Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, who on February 18, 1977, had her own encounter with the men of the law.

On that day, men of the Nigerian Army, numbering well over 100, stormed her residence in Lagos on a raid. During the raid, Kuti’s 76-year-old mother was thrown from the window of a two-storey building. She sustained injuries from which she never recovered, and died at the General Hospital in Lagos, on April 13, 1978. Funmilayo was not just Fela’s mum, the anti-colonial activist and feminist was, in many ways, the mother of the nation.

At her prime and during the colonial era, Ransome-Kuti riled against what she said were unfair taxes levied on small traders – many of whom were women, whom she led in colourful campaigns.

Was Seun Kuti, by his action, trying to exact revenge for the atrocities committed against his grandmother and his father? Even his uncle, Beko Ransome-Kuti, also got a dose of police brutality while he was alive. Yet it did not prevent one of the Kutis from serving in the Nigerian government during the military regime.

Specifically, Olikoye Ransome-Kuti served the Ibrahim Babangida regime as Minister of Health. His service to the regime and the government should have atoned and watered down the face-off between the Kutis and the government. Shouldn’t it?

But Seun, by his latest action, played into the hands of the police. Now, they are bent on exacting maximum humiliation on the musician. Because he could not manage his anger, he has been humiliated and made to look like a common felon. Seun voluntarily reported himself at the police headquarters and there was no reason for him to be handcuffed like a common criminal. He was also paraded before the police officers and the media while his house has been raided by the police who are looking for ‘evidence’ on more than one occasion. His wife’s phone was also taken from her for trying to record the search. The police actions handcuffing and parading Seun among criminals is unwarranted and illegal, going by the provision of Section 7 of the Administration of the Criminal Justice Act (2015) of the country’s constitution which says that suspects can only be handcuffed or subjected to any form of restraint under three circumstances. These include when: “(a) there is a reasonable apprehension of violence or an attempt to escape. “(b) the restraint is considered necessary for the safety of the suspect or defendant, or “(c) by order of a court.” None of these situations existed in this case, yet the police flouted these fundamentals in the arrest of Seun. They also ran afoul of S. 34, Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999, as amended), which guarantees the rights of citizens to personal dignity.

Again, he was taken to his house a second time for another round of search, where yet, nothing incriminating was found on him. Perhaps, they will present their latest findings before the court when the case resumes today. Now, the police may even say that they need to take his blood samples for a test to know whether it is tainted with drugs! Nigerians should not be surprised if they ask that he should be taken to Aro in Abeokuta, Ogun State, or the Psychiatrist Hospital in Yaba for an evaluation of his mental faculty. We can all attest to the character of the Nigeria Police in these matters.

When Seun Kuti slapped the police officer, whom the Force alleged went into a state of coma, public opinion was on the side of the police. At that particular time, the policeman was an officer of the law, the face of the State that must be accorded due respect. And that was why many Nigerians condemned what Seun did. But now, the way the police authorities are going about their bid to humiliate Seun is gradually turning the tide in favour of the musician.

Again, public opinion of the Nigerian Police has never been one that is complimentary. It is a no-love relationship that has existed between the police and Nigerians, generally. Why are the police hell-bent on extracting maximum humiliation on Seun over a slap when it is in record that thousands of Nigerians have been wrongly treated and accused by the Police? Or have we quickly forgotten that a similar scenario led to the #EndSars protests?

Has any criminal case been filed against the three police officers that beat an Okada rider to a stupor in the Abule Egba area of Lagos State a few days after the Seun incident? Except for the Lagos Commissioner of Police that visited the victim and appealed to the Hausa Community in Lagos, it is certain that the three policemen are back to duty after a few hours in detention. ‘The police is your friend’ mantra on radio and television has never swayed Nigerians. Nigerians know those that truly love them.

It is my fervent hope that Seun will come of his self-induced crisis soon and learn a big lesson from it. Never take the laws into your hands, no matter who you are. We should all learn to manage our anger. Femi Kuti, his elder brother had to stand in for him at the weekend in one of his scheduled European tours. Kudos to big brother Femi.

I am not an expert in anger management, but with extensive research on the subject, a brilliant article by one who can speak authoritatively, Mary Desroches, caught my attention. Part of the article is reproduced below for the benefit of Seun and others in his shoes who are prone to getting angry at the drop of a hat. Hope readers find it useful.

It is your prerogative to feel angry, but what is more important is what you use it for or do with it. Perhaps, you have heard one of Mark Twain’s sayings, where he compared anger to an acid, which implies that anger can be more harmful to you than whatever it is you feel angry towards.

Most people often have a misconception but anger and anger management. Learning to control your anger doesn’t mean doing away with the anger or never getting angry again. Our lives are full of ups and downs, crest and trough, and at times, it is normal and healthy to feel anger.

Therefore, as an adult, you must understand the signs of anger. Also, you must learn strategies to help ensure your reactions are productive and positive no matter how angry you are.

It is your prerogative to feel angry, but what is more important is what you use it for or do with it.

Certain events trigger our anger response, it’s never the same with everyone. Sometimes it may be a memory or an event. Our bodies and brains, naturally, get angry whenever they feel threatened. At this point, we are in control of what we do with anger – aggression, sarcasm, irritability, and grumpiness. Imagine having all these negativities in you over a long time, it eventually weighs you down.

With that in mind, it becomes necessary to learn how to respond positively to this feeling and here are 10 anger management tips to help control anger easily. 1. Before speaking, think, 2. Stay calm while expressing your anger, 3. Exercise regularly, 4. Take a break once in a while to relax and be you. 5. Identify what’s making you angry and deal with it, 6. Make use of the I statement regularly, 7. Never hold a grudge, 8. Release tension by using humour, 9. Try out some relaxation skills, and 10. Seek help at the right time.

See you next week.

The post Seun Kuti, Nigerian Police and anger management appeared first on Frontpageng.

Top of the news that has trended in the last few days is the “dirty slap”, as they call it, that Seun Kuti gave a policeman in uniform last Saturday. Seun is the son of the iconoclast and Afro-beat king, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. The event leaves much to be desired on many fronts. If it is true that it was Seun that bashed the policeman’s car and the policeman complained and was then offered a dirty slap to the bargain, this is impunity of the highest order. It is also what they call insult upon injury! According to reports, the policeman trailed Seun to his home and, there, both settled. Seun apologised and also offered the aggrieved policeman N12,000 to repair his damaged vehicle. Seun must have thought that was the end of the matter but, trust a policeman, the money and apology from Seun were treated as evidence of his culpability and could be exhibited in court as the policeman reportedly made (or had made) a report and then deposited the money with the police. The incident soon went viral (by who?) and, then, outrage. If the report is true that Seun boasted that the policeman in question was not the first he would slap, then, we must ask whether slapping a policeman (with or without justification) has become sport or pastime!

I do not want to believe that the IGP is so un-busy that the arrest of Seun should be top priority for him. If I may ask, is there no hierarchical structure in the police again?

Seun gave the police authorities the opportunity to flex muscles like the proverbial lazy husband who only flexes muscles with his wife at home! Thinking he was doing something noble and heroic, the Inspector-General of Police was reported to have ordered the prompt arrest of Seun – like Portable, the singer, was also arrested weeks ago in an unnecessarily dramatised fashion. I do not want to believe that the IGP is so un-busy that the arrest of Seun should be top priority for him. If I may ask, is there no hierarchical structure in the police again? What is the duty of the Area Commander where the incident was reported? What of the Lagos State Commissioner of Police? I think they used to have DIGs in charge of Zones. Are we saying none of these is big enough to order the arrest of an errant musician? Is Seun such an untouchable that only the IGP could order his arrest? If it takes the IGP to order the arrest of a “mere” Seun, I dare to say, you can now understand why big men are treated as untouchables here. They commit blue murder in broad daylight and no one dare touch them. With this action, the IGP, I am sorry to say, belittles his office and ridicules his subordinates whose duty it should have been, appropriately, to handle this matter.

Then, the police authorities over-reacted. They killed a fly with a sledge hammer. For a police Force conversant with the nuances of public relations, they should have leveraged on this incident to shine. They should have been very civil the way they handled the matter, not for the sake of the errant Seun but to win over the sympathy of, and accolades from, a discerning public. Rather than order the arrest of Seun, the appropriate Police authorities should have invited him. “We heard this and that happened, can you please come and state your own side of the matter?” Are the police no longer our friends? Proper psychology was not applied by the police in this matter. Now, the IGP ordered Seun’s arrest and the musician turned himself in to the police. He was not on the run. He did not tarry or delay from going to the police. He was not forced or compelled to honour the police. Why put him in handcuffs? He was not violent. He was not unruly. He did not comport himself in a way likely to cause a breach of the peace. He – and his supporters – did not storm the police station in IPOB or Obidient style. Why, then, put him in chains if not deliberately to ridicule him? The pictures of Seun that I saw depicted a remorseful personality. Why, then, put him in chains? That was mean of the police authorities. And the shame of those handcuffs on Seun, I dare to say, are not Seun’s but, sadly, of the police authorities. This is not the picture a police force that prides itself as our friends should portray.

READ ALSO: Between Obasanjo and Afe Babalola, By Bola Bolawole

Then, the Police Service Commission (PSC) was quoted as saying that Seun would be used as an object lesson for those who disrespect policemen in uniform! Haba!  The police should have some training in Law! I should think they do! There should even be sound lawyers in the Police Force. If so, what is the import of the statement from the PSC? It can only mean that Seun has been pronounced guilty ever before he is tried! Even before he is given the opportunity to defend himself, the guilty verdict has been pronounced on him by the highest police authority in the land.

So, the police became the accuser, the prosecutor and the judge at one and the same time! Yet, it is trite that no one shall be a judge in his own cause! How can this basic tenet of the rule of law be lost on the police that play such an indispensable role in the temple of justice? Having assumed the firm and unmistakable position that it has taken on this matter; can we expect Seun to get proper and unbiased investigation from the police? Even if the guilt of Seun is as clear as daylight, it is not in the place of the police to pronounce him guilty because the police are not a court of competent jurisdiction. Even if Seun confesses and or admits to having committed an offence, it is still not in the place of the police to pronounce judgment on him.

And it is trite that an accused person is deemed innocent in the eyes of the law until he has been pronounced guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction after he/she has had his/her day in court, that is, having been put through the rigours of fair trial. Why all of these were lost on the highest echelon of the police should give us more worry than the infantile radicalism of a musician. Kindly note that everything said here is not about Seun as a person but about the grave issues of fundamental human rights and the rule of law involved. It is Seun today; it can be any one tomorrow. This case has seen the limelight because of the personality involved and we can, therefore, comment on it; but how many such cases involving ordinary citizens are swept under the carpets?

The police that were swift in ordering the arrest of Seun were lethargic when Deborah Samuel was murdered in cold blood, in broad daylight and in the most horrendous and audacious manner by her school mates a year ago! One year later, the same police have the temerity to tell us that the vile murderers remain at large! This remains a blot on the police. If men of power have drawn the curtains on this sordid affair, has God? Will the blood of Deborah, like the blood of biblical Abel, not cry unto God from the belly of the earth? In like manner, Leah Sharibu, who marked her fifth year in Boko Haram captivity last February, will forever remain an indelible stain on the president, retired Major-General Muhammadu Buhari , and his administration. Not a few believe that Leah was left to suffer because she refused to renounce her faith. “Serves her right”, some might have said! “Let Jesus, whom she professed, deliver her!” Not so? God created the vulture noted for his patience; so He is more patient than the vulture.

Dele Giwa, himself also a victim of vicious vampires, said: “No evil will go unpunished; any evil by man to man will be redressed, if not now, then, certainly later, if not by man, then, certainly by God, for the victory of evil over good is temporary.”

The only option he is left with is to be man enough and honour his threat to go on exile should Tinubu become president! Lesson: Bridle your tongue, especially when tempers run high!

Have you heard the news? Some elders of Lagos State are trying to offer PDP chieftain, Chief Olabode George, soft landing! They are reportedly brokering what has been said to be a truce between George and the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and from reports, the former has stylishly climbed into the boat! The only option he is left with is to be man enough and honour his threat to go on exile should Tinubu become president! Lesson: Bridle your tongue, especially when tempers run high! Refrain from using swear words! Never say “Over my dead body!” As a student of history familiar with the story of the founding of the old Kingdom of Abomey, which later became Dahomey, and now the Republic of Benin, I have also learnt to refrain from being sarcastic. Useful lessons, I am sure, have been learnt. And no one is too old to learn. Next should be moves to reconcile Pa Ayo Adebanjo with Tinubu. Over to you, Lagos/Yoruba elders!

*Bolawole (turnpot@gmail.com / 0807 552 5533), former Editor of PUNCH newspapers, Chairman of its Editorial Board and Deputy Editor-in-chief, was also the Managing Director/ Editor-in-chief of THE WESTERNER newsmagazine. He writes the ON THE LORD’S DAY column in the Sunday Tribune and TREASURES column in New Telegraph newspaper on Wednesdays. He is also a public affairs analyst on radio and television.

The post Musings on Seun Kuti, Deborah Samuel, Leah Sharibu and Olabode George appeared first on Frontpageng.

The Chief Magistrate, Mrs Adeola 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 N1 million 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.

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

Earlier, the investigating police officer, Mr Lekan Ogundare, told the court that the defendant committed the offence on May 13 on the Third Mainland Bridge.

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

He alleged that the defendant grabbed Insp 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.

Mr S. A. Adebeshin, a legal officer of the police, applied  to the court to give the police 21 days to carry out further investigation on the case.

His application was supported by a 12-paragraph affidavit.

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

He requested for time to respond to the application.

Reacting, Mr M. A. Animashaun, a member of police legal team, submitted that there should be temporary deprivation of liberty of the defendant for purposes of investigation of the case.

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

However,  Olumide-Fusika said 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.

In her ruling, Olatubosun, who earlier requested for a five-minute break to look into the arguments,  said, “The court has decided to pass its judgment based on the information given here (case file).

Source: NAN

The post Alleged assault: Court orders remand of Seun Kuti appeared first on Frontpageng.

Seun had, in a video, accused the policeman of bashing his car hence the assault.

The arraignment took place at the magistrate court in Yaba, Lagos, on Tuesday.

Seun Kuti was said to have violated Section Section 356 of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act, by his action.

During the arraignment, the police prosecutor, S.A. Adebese, prayed the court to remand the musician for 21 days pending legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions, DPP.

Femi Falana, counsel to the musician, however, pleaded that his client should not be remanded.

Seun Kuti turned himself in at the Lagos State Police Command headquarters in Ikeja, Lagos, on Monday, following the order for his arrest by the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, for slapping a police officer in uniform.

Seun’s attack on the police officer is contained in a video that has since gone viral.

According to the spokesman of the police command, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, on his Twitter handle, Seun Kuti turned himself in in the company of his lawyer and family representative.

The spokesman said he had been arrested in line with the law.

He gave the assurance that the police would carry out detailed, transparent and professional investigation on the matter.

He also expressed the appreciation of members of the public for their concern expressed over the matter.

It would be recalled that the chairman of the Police Service Commission, PSC, Solomon Arase, has declared that Seun Kuti should be prosecuted without delay in order to serve as a deterrent to others.

Arase said in a statement that no matter the offence, nobody, including Kuti, had the right to assault a policeman on official duty.

He frowned at the effrontery of Kuti to have slapped the policeman, insisting that Nigeria is not a Hobbesian state where might is right.

“We must, as civilized people explore established channels of complaints against alleged infractions by law enforcement officials rather than this uncouth behaviour of assaulting the country’s symbol of authority.

“We look forward to the prompt prosecution of Kuti to act as a deterrent to others,’’ Arase was quoted in the statement issued by PSC’s spokesman, Mr Mr Ikechukwu Ani.

The post Alleged assault: Police arraign Seun Kuti appeared first on Frontpageng.

That, the lawyer said, was despite the fact that there was no other arrangement in place to feed the Afrobeat musician Monday evening.

The lawyer made this known on Tuesday in a statement to give update on the case of assault against Seun Kuti.

His words: “…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.”

Kuti turned himself in at the Lagos State Police Command headquarters in Ikeja, Lagos, on Monday, following the order for his arrest by the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, for slapping a police officer in uniform.

Seun’s attack on the police officer is contained in a video that has since gone viral.

According to the spokesman of the police command, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, on his Twitter handle, Seun Kuti turned himself in in the company of his lawyer and family representative.

The spokesman said he had been arrested in line with the law.

He gave the assurance that the police would carry out detailed, transparent and professional investigation on the matter.

He also expressed the appreciation of members of the public for their concern expressed over the matter.

It would be recalled that the chairman of the Police Service Commission, PSC, Solomon Arase, has declared that Seun Kuti should be prosecuted without delay in order to serve as a deterrent to others.

Arase said in a statement that no matter the offence, nobody, including Kuti, had the right to assault a policeman on official duty.

The post Seun Kuti: Police prevented wife from delivering food -Lawyer appeared first on Frontpageng.

He has therefore refused to make a statement on the case to the police as required of him at the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba, where he is detained.

Seun Kuti is under arrest on the order of the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, for slapping a policeman in uniform whom he accused of bashing his car.

He turned himself in on Monday and was handcuffed.

In a statement made available to FrontPage by his lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN), Seun Kuti alleged that without his statement, the spokesman of the police command had carried out investigation into the case, issued a report and published same in the media where he (Seun Kuti) was said to have been the one who bashed the policeman’s vehicle and subsequently paid him N12,000 for the repair.

According to him, it was after the investigation which was carried out by Hundeyin that he was asked to make a statement.

READ ALSO: BREAKING: Assault: Seun Kuti turns himself in, arrested (+Photos)

Seun Kuti, the lawyer said, declared that his statement was therefore no longer necessary indicating that the police had reached a conclusion.

He said rather, he would wait for the right time and place to defend himself under the law against the “investigative findings” of Hundeyin.

Said Seun’s lawyer: “Although he had been with the Police since 8:00am on Monday 15th May, 2023, Mr. Seun Kuti notes that it was at about 8:00pm that day, after Mr. Benjamin Hundeyin had already completed and published his investigative report above, that he was asked to make a statement to the Police at the Force 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 by any statement from him. 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 statement reads in full:

1. Mr. Benjamin Hundeyin who goes by the formal title of Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, but apparently doubles as the Investigating Police Officer into the case of alleged assault of a policeman by my client, Mr. Seun Kuti, has issued a Report of his investigative work.
2. 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.
3. Mr. Seun Kuti is nevertheless not surprised that Mr. Benjamin Hundeyin chose instead to make his investigative report the subject of media publication, as for instance, in the Punch online publication of Monday May 15, 2023 titled “Assault: Seun Kuti apologised, gave cop ₦‎12,000 to repair vehicle, police say”.
4. According to Mr. Benjamin Hundeyin, in his investigative report handed over to The Punch, “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 the policeman and gave him ₦12,000 to repair his damaged vehicle.

“But the officer reported the incident at the Area F Police Command in Ikeja, and deposited the ₦12,000 at the counter while he gave a written statement concerning the incident.”

5. Although he had been with the Police since 8:00am on Monday 15th May, 2023, Mr. Seun Kuti notes that it was at about 8:00pm that day, after Mr. Benjamin Hundeyin had already completed and published his investigative report above, that he was asked to make a statement to the Police at the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba.
6. 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 by any statement from him. 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’.
7. 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.
8. We await the next move of the Police on the allegation of crime against Mr. Seun Kuti.

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This follows the order for his arrest by the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, for slapping a police officer in uniform.

Seun’s attack on the police officer is contained in a video that has since gone viral.

According to the spokesman of the police command, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, on his Twitter handle, Seun Kuti turned himself in in the company of his lawyer and family representative.

The spokesman said he had been arrested in line with the law.

He gave the assurance that the police would carry out detailed, transparent and professional investigation on the matter.

He also expressed the appreciation of members of the public for their concern expressed over the matter.

It would be recalled that the chairman of the Police Service Commission, PSC, Solomon Arase, has declared that Seun Kuti should be prosecuted without delay in order to serve as a deterrent to others.

Arase said in a statement that no matter the offence, nobody, including Kuti, had the right to assault a policeman on official duty.

He frowned at the effrontery of Kuti to have slapped the policeman, insisting that Nigeria is not a Hobbesian state where might is right.

“We must, as civilized people explore established channels of complaints against alleged infractions by law enforcement officials rather than this uncouth behaviour of assaulting the country’s symbol of authority.

“We look forward to the prompt prosecution of Kuti to act as a deterrent to others,’’ Arase was quoted in the statement issued by PSC’s spokesman, Mr Mr Ikechukwu Ani.

Ani added that Arase commended the police officer for refusing to be provoked by the action of his aggressor; a development, he said would have been fatal.

Arase also said it was unfortunate that the incident occurred at a time when the Police Force management was dealing with officers who harassed, intimidated or assaulted civilians.

He stressed that it was worrisome that police officers had now become victims of the actions of some uncultured elite.

He enjoined the police to use the present incident to set an example that that would never be tolerated in Nigeria, a country governed by laws, rules and regulations.

The PSC chairman noted that the groundswell of public opinion against the conduct of the abuser was indicative of the love and respect Nigerians had for law enforcement officers.

He said that underscored the need for all police officers to continually respect the right of the populace and be professional in all their conducts.

He added that the prompt order to arrest and prosecute Kuti, who obviously had diminished the sanctity of the symbol of authority of the Nigerian nation, was a welcome development.

“The Commission demands that the culprit be arraigned immediately and the police must ensure that the matter is followed to its logical conclusion to restore public confidence in the Nigeria Police.

“The demand is in recognition of the fact that the police is the lead agency in internal security.

“Its ability to maintain law and order and to protect lives and property must be held sacrosanct,’’ Ani also quoted Arase as saying.

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