On Saturday, social media users reacted with indignation to Seun Kuti attack on a police officer, which was caught on camera on the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos State.
While some people were disappointed at Kuti’s decision, others called for the musician to be punished.
A 12-second video clip that went viral on Saturday showed Kuti shoving a police officer who was standing next to a Toyota Hilux police vehicle while he was dressed in a red shirt and white pants.
Then, as he slapped the officer, he said, “You dey craze, you dey mad?”
“Omo na Kuti o,” the driver was heard saying as he recorded the event from inside his automobile. This is hardly better news, however.
Seun Kuti can’t escape this sha, tweeted @usmanlade in response to the video. He does not purchase the market.
Popular Twitter user @PoojaMedia said that Kuti had no right to attack the cop and expressed excitement about how the police would handle the situation.
You don’t have the right to smack a police officer, he wrote. I’m interested to watch how the police handle Seun Kuti’s slapping of a uniformed guy.
Seun Kuti publically attacking a police officer while they are in uniform is completely inappropriate, according to another tweeter @DejiAdesogan. Sincerity be damned, some celebrities in Nigeria behave as if they are above the law, getting away with committing atrocities that would be illegal in “saner climes.”
No one is above the law; Seun Kuti (Mr. Know It All) should spend time in prison for assaulting a police officer, a Twitter user named @Obajemujnr_ tweeted. Even while we may not agree with the Nigerian police, we should nonetheless respect them. He assaults a police officer while advocating for improved administration.
Let justice be done, @oyin_ayobam stated on Instagram. Manage your rage. Observe the dress code. We must start here if we want a better nation.
What is wrong is bad, stated @tonia.gram_, another Instagram user. Regardless of how police operate most of the time, I won’t defend what Seun did. He avoids the trap.
@viviantunuza, another user, said, “Why wasn’t he detained there and then? I’m certain I wasn’t the only one there when the police officer was attacked. Must everything catch the IG’s eye for them to act morally? It was upsetting to witness anybody being smacked, especially a police officer who was on duty. He has to be handled.
On his Instagram profile @BigbirdKuti, Kuti commented on the popular video and said the cop had tried to kill him and his family.
He stated, “I have proof that he tried to kill me and my family, but I’m not chasing power.” He has expressed regret, and I have decided not to file a complaint. Make the poor man not lose his employment; make his mind not his business.
The youngest child of Afrobeat artist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Usman Baba, the Inspector-General of Police, ordered the immediate arrest of Kuti.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, released a statement on Saturday in which the IG issued the directive.
“The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, has ordered the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, to arrest Afrobeat singer Seun Kuti, who was seen on camera assaulting a police officer in uniform,” the statement said.
The statement added, “The IG has also ordered a speedy and thorough investigation into the immediate and remote cause(s) of the assault and prosecution of the suspect accordingly.”
The IG was also reported by Adejobi as promising Nigerians that “contempt/disdain for symbols of authority” would not be allowed and that “offenders of such hideous crimes will surely be brought to book.”
Our journalists’ attempts to speak with Kuti about the event were unsuccessful since he did not pick up when his calls repeatedly rang out.
However, Kuti pledged to work with law enforcement while responding to the warrant for his arrest on Instagram.
Whoever erred, he argued, should be punished.
In an interview with Sunday PUNCH, the force’s spokesperson, Adejobi, said that Kuti had no explanation for his behavior.
Adejobi swore to uphold the policeman’s rights and made a commitment to take legal action himself if the officer was found guilty after the inquiry.
Two wrongs cannot equal a right, he said. People are aware that when you report anything, we will look into it since we have seen examples when police officers committed errors and were fired or demoted as a result. We also requested an inquiry be conducted for this reason.
“However, it has been shown that Kuti attacked a police officer, and he will pay the price. And if the police officer does something improper, he will pursue it. His own, though, is clear.
Officially, legally, and ethically, it is wrong for a guy to slap another man. I haven’t seen anybody give him kudos for what he did. Even if his father were still living, I doubt he would give him praise.