Afrobeat singer Seun Kuti was arrested for police violence 2023
A Nigerian Afrobeat star was detained on Monday for allegedly assaulting a police officer in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital.
After turning himself in, Seun Kuti was detained at the Lagos State police headquarters, according to police spokesperson Benjamin Hundeyin, who tweeted photos of the celebrity in restraints.
Kuti, the son of Nigerian musical icon and political activist Fela, who himself was detained repeatedly by Nigerian military regimes, was “caught on video assaulting a uniformed police officer,” according to the police.
Nigerian Afrobeat star Seun Kuti arrested
Saturday, online videos appeared to show an agitated Kuti shoving a police officer who was standing next to a police vehicle on a main road in Lagos.
Unknown was the cause of the confrontation, but Kuti tweeted that the officer “attempted to kill me and my family.” He implied that the officer attempted to ram their vehicle.
Usman Alkali Baba, Inspector General of Police, ordered an investigation into the incident. The police stated that the inspector general “assures Nigerians that acts of contempt/disdain for symbols of authority will not be tolerated and that perpetrators of such heinous crimes will be brought to justice.”
