Released on bail, Nigeria’s Kuti to begin concert tour amid assault trial

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) – A Nigerian Afrobeat star facing trial for assaulting a police officer will resume delayed concerts after being released on bail, his manager said Wednesday.

Sean Kuti, who was in court Wednesday, has concerts scheduled in more than a dozen countries, but his departure was put on hold because of testing, his manager Ayo Moses told The Associated Press.

Seun Kuti, the son of Nigerian music icon and political agitator Fela Kuti, who was himself successively detained by the Nigerian military regime, has been under house arrest for a week after allegedly assaulting a police officer in the economic hub of Lagos, Nigeria. was kept longer.

At Wednesday’s court hearing, the presiding judge ruled that it was the public prosecutor – not the police – who had the power to prosecute the musician. The judge then adjourned the matter till the next hearing on July 3.

After the hearing his lawyer Femi Falana said, “He is out on bail and as a responsible citizen, he will continue to enjoy his rights as he is presumed innocent.”

Viral videos emerged last week of an agitated Kuti shouting and pushing an officer along a major road in Lagos. It is still unclear what led to the confrontation, although Kuti alleged that the officer “tried to kill me and my family.”

While he was in custody, police searched Kuti’s home, causing an uproar among some Nigerians and his lawyers. But Benjamin Hundeyin, a spokesman for the Lagos police, defended the search as necessary and court-approved.

“During our investigation, we stumbled upon certain suspicious things which needed to be proved/disproved beyond reasonable doubt,” Hyundai said without giving further details.