The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba has ordered the arrest of Afrobeat Singer, Seun Kuti, for assaulting a police officer on the 3rd Mainland Bridge, Lagos.
In a viral video circulating on social media, Seun Kuti was seen aggressively approaching the police officer and pushing him on the chest during the confrontation on Saturday, May 13, 2023.
The youngest child of the late Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo Kuti, who wore a red shirt and white pair of trousers, pushed the policeman, who stood beside a Toyota Hilux police van.
Seun then proceeded to slap the policeman who kept his cool throughout the whole confrontation. While assaulting the cop, the musician was heard saying, “You dey crase, you dey mad?”
Although the cause of the confrontation is not yet known as of the time of writing this report, a motorist, who filmed the incident from his car, was heard saying, “Omo na Kuti o. Na better news be this o.”
In a statement on Saturday by the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the IGP ordered the immediate arrest of Kuti and an investigation into the incident.
The statement read, “The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, has ordered the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, to arrest Afrobeat singer, Seun Kuti, who was captured on video assaulting a police officer in uniform.
“The IG has equally ordered a speedy and full investigation into the remote and immediate cause(s) of the assault and prosecution of the suspect accordingly,” the statement read.
Adejobi also quoted the IG as assuring Nigerians that the act of “contempt/disdain for symbols of authority” would not be tolerated, while “offenders of such hideous crimes will surely be brought to book.”
