Celebrities flaunt a lifestyle which makes them seem larger than life, but they are never above the law. The arrest and arraignment of Habeeb Okikiola popularly known as Portable is the latest testimony.
In this report, Daily Trust highlights some Nigerian celebrities who have been detained or arrested by law enforcement authorities.
PORTABLE
Portable was on Monday arraigned before a magistrates’ court in Ifo, Ogun State on Monday on a six-count charge bordering on assault.
Daily Trust reports that Portable landed in police custody on Friday, March 31, 2023, after his encounter with police officers at his bar, during which one of them was allegedly injured.
UPDATED: Portable sent to prison over assault
Portable, arraigned for assault, injuring Inspector
The Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, had said the controversial singer would face more than six charges in court.
BURNA BOY
In 2017, Damini Ogulu, aka Burna Boy, was arrested for alleged involvement in the robbery of his colleague, Abiye Jumbo, popularly called Mr 2kay. He was subsequently arraigned before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court in Lagos on two counts of ‘accessory to after fact and failing to give information to the police on the attack’.
Before his arraignment, the singer had been declared wanted by the then Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, following his refusal to respond to an invitation by the police.
Four suspects, including Burna Boy’s road manager, Joel Kantiock, had been paraded for allegedly robbing Mr 2Kay on October 22, 2017, in his room at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, after a show.
The suspects allegedly confessed that Burna Boy mobilised them with an initial cash sum of N50,000 and a subsequent sum of N50,000 to carry out the attack.
Meanwhile, the ‘Ye’ singer was allegedly barred from the United Kingdom for some years on account of a gang-related crime. The ban was allegedly lifted in 2016 though Ogulu maintained in an interview that he came to Nigeria of his own volition and was not deported from the UK.
SMALL DOCTOR
In 2018, Adekunle Temitope, popularly known as ‘Small Doctor’, was set free from police custody with a warning not to engage in any violent act for the next one year.
A magistrates’ court at Ebute Metta in Lagos ruled in favour of the musician after he was arraigned by the police for unlawful possession of firearms.
The court ruled in favour of ‘Small Doctor’, because he had a licence to carry a gun.
‘Small Doctor’, alongside three others, were arrested and paraded by the police for harassing a police officer with a gun. He was also accused of unlawfully carrying a functional rifle.
ICE PRINCE
In September 2022, Nigerian rapper, Ice Prince Zamani was arrested for allegedly abducting a police officer. This was confirmed by the Police Command spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin.
Hundeyin narrated the incident that led to Ice Prince’s arrest on his verified Twitter handle.
“At 3am today, @Iceprincezamani was stopped for driving without license plates. He agreed to be taken to the station. He, thereafter, abducted the police officer in his car, assaulted him and threatened to throw him in the river. He has been arrested and would be arraigned,” Hundeyin wrote.
NAIRA MARLEY AND ZLATAN
In 2019, Afeez Fashola (aka Naira Marley) and Temidayo Omoniyi (aka Zlatan), were arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in connection with alleged cases of Internet fraud and money laundering.
The EFCC acting Head, Media and Publicity, Tony Orilade, in a statement, said an intelligence report had also linked them to cybercrime offenses.
Orilade added that the artistes were arrested along with three other suspects, Tiamiu Abdulrahman, Adewunmi Adeyanju and Musa Abubakar, following an early morning raid on 9, Gbangbola Street, Ikate, Lekki, Lagos.
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