Why Seun Kuti’s bail is delayed – Counsel
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Adeyinka Fusika, who is also the attorney for the remanded Afrobeat musician Seun Kuti, has stated that “administrative approval” is delaying the musician’s release on bail.
Fusika stated in a Tuesday WhatsApp message to our correspondent that Seun’s bail had nothing to do with today’s (Tuesday) court session.
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Seun was remanded in police custody by a Yaba Magistrates’ Court presided over by Magistrate Adeola Olatunbosun after being arraigned by the police last week for assaulting a police officer. The court granted him bail on May 16, but he was ordered to remain in police custody for 48 hours to allow police to complete their investigation.
On Thursday, May 18, after 48 hours had passed, the police requested to continue their investigation by holding the singer in custody for an additional four days.
Today, upon arriving at court, it was discovered that the judge had gone to training.
According to his attorney, the purpose of today’s hearing was to hear the opinion of the Director of Public Prosecution in Lagos.
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“As you may recall, the court ruled that the DPP’s office, not the police, would prosecute the case; therefore, the police were ordered to send the case file to the DPP for evaluation and prosecution determination.
Fusika noted that the court was supposed to meet today to hear the DPP’s advice, but did not because the magistrate is attending a training course.
He stated, however, that the DPP’s opinion was not yet available because the police investigation team was still in possession of the case file.
When contacted by our correspondent, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, stated that the matter was before the court and that he could not comment further.
“The matter is already in court, so we cannot discuss it,” he said in a telephone conversation with our correspondent.
According to him, the head of the police legal team will provide an update on the situation.
Fusika was optimistic about his client’s release on Tuesday, maintaining that bail had already been granted and was awaiting “administrative approval.”
“The release on bail of Mr. Kuti, as ordered by the magistrate, is awaiting administrative approval. This procedure has no bearing on whether or not the court is physically sitting. We are hopeful that Mr. Kuti will be released on bail today, having met the conditions,” he said.
When asked what this administrative approval entailed, he stated that the bail warrant had to be signed by magistrates or a court-authorized individual.
Protesters storm court and demand the release of a singer
On Tuesday, protesters gathered in front of the Yaba Magistrates Court to demand Seun’s release.
They were observed carrying banners and signs while chanting “Free Seun Kuti Now!”
Several musicians and activist groups have demanded Seun’s release.
Timaya Odon, professionally known as Timaya, posted “Free Seun Kuti” on his verified Facebook page last Saturday.
American rapper Talib Kweli also called for Seun’s release via a post on his verified Instagram account. Last weekend, a portion of his post read, “Nah, release the bro.” He stated that Seun was a member of his family and had appeared on several of his songs.
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