Seun Kuti, the embattled Afrobeat singer, has been crowned the ‘General Overseer’ of his cell by the inmates.
Recall that Seun made the headlines and his woes began after a video of him assaulting a police officer on the Third Mainland bridge on May 13 went viral.
The incident prompted an order for his arrest by the Inspector-General of Police, Alkali Baba.
Seun, however, turned himself in at the police station on Monday accompanied by his lawyers and was subsequently arraigned at a Sabo, Yaba Chief Magistrate Court on Tuesday which ordered his remand.
The son of Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti was later remanded at the State Criminal, Investigations and Intelligence Department, SCIID, Panti, Yaba, Lagos on the orders of Yaba Chief Magistrate Court for assaulting a police officer.
He was, however, greeted by uneasiness and pandemonium in the prison, a situation engendered by the initial hostile attitude of the inmates at the SCIID.
He would later be appointed as the spiritual father of his cell. However, his appointment as the GO was however not without some drama after the inmates initially rejected him.
According to the Vanguard, upon his resumption at the cell, Seun was greeted by the intimidating hoarse, deep baritone voice of the leader of the inmates who ordered him to remain standing.
A few minutes later, a pandemonium ensued inside the cell as the inmates were said to have rejected him.
The inmates were banging on their metal protective door in protestations, asking that Seun should be taken out of the cell.
Sources said as the uproar by the inmates rose, Seun called for calm and started negotiating for peace to reign. That was when he noticed that the commotion his presence caused and his rejection by the inmates attracted little or no attention from the police guards.
At that stage, he reportedly promised to dole out N25,000 to them and he was directed to produce it without delay. He had to beg for the phone to call his wife who quickly brought the money which was handed over to their leader. The inmates subsequently accepted him (Seun) and provided a space for him to sit down.
Vanguard reported that Seun was so exasperated by the ugly development that played out that he refused to eat the food provided for him including the food brought by his wife. The hunger strike continued for almost a day and a half until he finally started eating.
The climax of the drama was that the inmates later crowned him the General Overseer of the cell and a bible was handed over to him. That means that he is presently leading the inmates in prayer sessions whenever the need arises after which they would all chorus: GO, GO.
It’s gathered seun was seen clutching the Bible tightly with his left hand around 2:30 pm on Friday while climbing the stairs leading to the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge, Waheed Ayilara. He was later led down the stairs, back into the cell.