Why Seun Kuti Embarked On Hunger Strike In Police Cell For Two Days
After the conclusion of preliminary investigations and Seun being taken to the cell, the singer, who is on remand at the State Criminal, Investigations, and Intelligence Department, Panti, Yaba, Lagos over a video that went viral, in which Seun was accused of slapping a police officer on the Third Mainland bridge on May 13 which prompted an order for his arrest by the Inspector-General of Police, Alkali Baba.
Seun however turned himself in for interrogation the following Monday in the company of his lawyers and family representative and was arraigned at a Sabo, Yaba Chief Magistrate Court on Tuesday. The court granted him bail but ordered that the bail becomes effective 4 8 hours after to enable the police to conclude their investigation. He was, therefore, remanded in police custody.
Seun was said to have been rejected by other suspects who vehemently opposed his inclusion in their cell.
To Seun’s surprise, the cell leader ordered him to remain standing till he (the cell leader) and other cell mates accept his inclusion and permit him to sit.
It was reported that the inmates were banging on the metal protective door, demanding that Seun be taken out of their cell.
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Why We Placed Seun Kuti On Cuffs Despite Turning Himself In – Police Reveals
However, sources report that Seun negotiated for peace which was accepted after negotiating and agreeing to pay a sum of N25,000 to buy their acceptance.
Seun was said to have been angered by this development, causing him to embark on a hunger strike that lasted for almost two days before he eventually agreed to resume eating.
The Afrobeat singer has however resumed eating after embarking on a hunger strike following his rejection by fellow suspects in police custody.
Seun’s Lawyer Accuses Police Of Disobeying Court Order
Lawyers to embattled Afrobeat singer, Seun Kuti, have accused the police of disobeying a court order by withholding the artiste’s case file.
The lawyers, in a statement on Friday, called on the Lagos State Deputy Commissioner of Police, Simon Lough, to obey the order of a magistrate’s court to send the artiste’s case file to the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions for legal advice.
Seun, a son of the late Afrobeats legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, has been in police custody since May 15 for allegedly assaulting a police officer.
The singer’s lead counsel, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, SAN, accused the police of creating a circus around the matter.
He said, “Mr. Kuti submitted himself to the police so that he can go answer in court for the allegation of assaulting a policeman. It is the police who, rather than taking this simple and straightforward step, have decided to create a circus and make a ‘national emergency’ of the matter.
“Now that Mr. Kuti has been put in manacles and taken on parade from one police station to another and from one location to the other across Lagos State since Monday, May 15, when exactly is he going to be charged for, as you put it in your statement, ‘attacking and slapping a police officer in uniform?’”
The lead counsel said Kuti was patiently waiting to be charged so that he could offer his defense.
He added, “That should not be too much for a suspect to expect. I do hope that Lough as a lawyer and indeed a Senior Advocate of Nigeria counseling the police on this matter will obey the order of the magistrate’s court to send the case file to the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions for legal evaluation and possible charge and prosecution before a court of law.”
