Court dismisses by Police to arraign Seun Kuti for assault

Chief Magistrate Adeola Olatunbosun on Wednesday dismissed an application by the Nigeria police force seeking to arraign Afro-beats singer, Seun Kuti, for an alleged assault of a police officer

She adjourned hearing to July 3 to await a legal advice from the office of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions on the matter.

The musician came to the chief Magistrate’s Court Sabo-Yaba area of Lagos State, after he was released on bail on Tuesday. He had been in detention at the state criminal investigative department Panti since last Monday.

At the resumed hearing, police counsel Cyril Ejiofor had sought the leave of court to arraign the singer, having prepared a charge against him.

But senior advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana representing the defendant urged the court to dismiss the application, maintaining that such actions of the police amounts to a contempt of court.

Last week, the same court had delivered two rulings ordering the police to duplicate the case file and forward it to the Office of the DPP at the Lagos ministry of Justice for an advice on whether to prosecute the case.

The court had also ruled that the police cannot investigate and prosecute the matter.

But the police counsel urged the court to dismiss the objection saying that section 23 of the police Act empowers them to prosecute cases, and that the Nigeria police cannot wait for the state government, having already sent the case file to them

In her ruling, the magistrate said she would stand by her previous orders to await the DPP’s advice.