Indications have emerged that Afrobeat musician, Seun Kuti, who was seen in a viral video assaulting a police officer, may be defended by human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), if he turns himself in to the police. Falana confirmed that the singer had sought his legal services and he had enough evidence to defend him.
However, a team of policemen drafted to effect Kuti’s arrest yesterday could not locate his whereabouts upon getting to his residence in Lagos. Falana hinted that the embattled singer would turn himself in today, saying, “He is going to report himself to the police tomorrow morning (today). There is no problem at all.”
Meanwhile, the Police Service Commission (PSC) has demanded the immediate prosecution of Seun Kuti for the alleged assault on a police officer in uniform while on official duty in Lagos. In a statement issued yesterday, the commission commended the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, for the action taken so far on the incident.
The chairman of the commission, Dr. Solomon Arase, said that regardless of the offense the police officer committed, nobody, including Seun Kuti, has the right to assault a policeman in uniform and on official duty. He condemned the “effrontery” of Seun to slap the police officer, insisting that Nigeria is not a Hobbesian state where might is right. The commission urged the IGP to ensure that the matter was followed to its logical conclusion in order to restore public confidence in the Nigeria Police as the lead agency in internal security in the country.