Inmates crown Seun Kuti ‘General Overseer’ as he leads prayer sessions

Embattled Afrobeat singer and son of Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Seun Kuti, who is currently being 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, has been crowned the ‘General Overseer’ of his cell by the inmates.

Vanguard reports that a copy of the Holy Bible was said to have been handed over to him as an instrument of his office. His appointment as the GO was however not without some drama after the inmates initially rejected him.

In a video that went viral, Seun was seen slapping a police officer on the Third Mainland bridge on May 13, which prompted an order for his arrest by the Inspector-General of Police, Alkali Baba. Seun however submitted himself to the police accompanied by his lawyers on Monday May 15, and was arraigned at a Sabo, Yaba Chief Magistrate Court on Tuesday which ordered his remand.

According to the report, after Seun was taken to the cell to join other suspected criminals, his first shocker was the hoarse, deep baritone voice of the leader of the inmates who directed him to keep standing. A few minutes later, a crisis erupted inside the cell as the inmates were said to have rejected him. The inmates were banging on their metal protective door, asking that Seun should be taken out of the cell.

The report quotes sources as saying that as the uproar by the inmates escalated, Seun 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 a 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.

Seun was reportedly infuriated 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.

According to the report, Seun was seen clutching the Bible tightly with his left hand while climbing the stairs leading to the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge, Waheed Ayilara, on Friday afternoon. He was later led down the stairs and back into the cell.

Sources said those who have visited the embattled singer are his elder brother, Femi, and other family members as well as his lawyers and some friends.

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