Fellow inmates at the State Criminal, Investigations and Intelligence Department (SCIID) in Panti, Yaba, Lagos, have crowned Seun Kuti the ‘General Overseer’ (GO) of his cell.
The embattled Afrobeat singer and son of Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, was detained on the orders of the Yaba Chief Magistrate Court for assaulting a police officer in Lagos.
In the cell, 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 accused of 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 had submitted himself to the police accompanied by his lawyers on Monday and was arraigned at a Sabo, Yaba Chief Magistrate Court on Tuesday which ordered his remand.
Reports say after preliminary interrogations were concluded, Seun was taken to the cell to join other suspected criminals. It was learned that 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, there was commotion 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.
Sources said as the uproar by the inmates escalated, Seun started pacifying them. 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.
* Doles out N25, 000
At that stage, Seun 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.