Social media critic and writer Reno Omokri has called on the Nigerian Police to show mercy towards Seun Kuti, as he may be suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Recall that Kuti was arrested after he was involved in an altercation with a police officer on the Third Mainland bridge in Lagos State, where he slapped the officer during the weekend.
However, Reno, via Twitter, explained that Seun might have acted in such manner because of the experience he and his family passed through in the hands of security agencies in the past.
“What Seun did was wrong. And I condemn it. But Seun has a history with the police and the military that has scarred him for life. They beat his Septuagenarian grandmother and threw her from the first floor to the ground. She died from the injuries sustained. His father carried her coffin to Dodan barracks in tears! Till today, NOBODY was punished for the crime against Olufunmilayo Kuti.
“They beat his father to an inch of his life. Multiple times. They burnt down their residence, with multiple vets and other property. They were never paid compensation. The police raided the shrine episodically, right from when Seun was a baby to his adulthood. And even in this incident involving the slap, there was provocation from the policeman. I am not saying that the provocation justified the slap. My motive is just to put things in context.
READ ALSO: Court Grants Seun Kuti Bail After Assault On Police Officer
“What he did was condemnable. It is unacceptable. But when you look at his personal history, there are mitigating circumstances. And I beg the Inspector General of Police to take Seun’s Post Traumatic Stress Disorder into account. Because even Buhari’s wife, Aisha, admitted that her husband also suffers from PTSD due to his experience with the Nigerian state apparatus. The police are as institutionally to blame for what happened to that policeman as Seun. Let us do a story here and not just justice.” Reno opined.
Meanwhile, a Sabo-Yaba Magistrates’ Court in Lagos on Thursday granted an application for extension of remand of the afrobeat singer for additional four days.
Adeola Olatubosun, the Chief Magistrate, extended Kuti’s remand until May 22.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Simon Lough, who led a police legal team to the court, had moved the application, adding that the extension is to allow further investigation into the case.
Kuti who is charged with assaulting a police officer was arraigned on Tuesday.
Olatubosun, however, held that the defendant should be admitted to bail in the sum of one million Naira with two sureties in like sum, at the end of the 48-hour remand.
She added that one of the sureties must be a landlord within the jurisdiction of the court while adjourning the case until May 22 for mention.
