Last week, Funke
Akindele, and her husband, Abdulrasheed Bello, aka JJC Skillz, made the
news when they were sentenced to 14 days community service and ordered
to pay fines of N100,000 each, for violating the lockdown currently in
place in Lagos State. Omani Franklin takes a look at other
entertainers that have had issues with the law
Funke Akindele and JJC Skillz
Actress,
Funke Akindele, and husband, Abdulrasheed Bello, popularly known as JJC
Skillz, were arrested for violating the Federal and Lagos State
directives on the lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus by
hosting a party with more than 20 guests in attendance. The video of the
party was uploaded on social media, and this got many Nigerians upset
and ranting about the danger involved. Meanwhile, the actress was in an
advertisement, advising people to observe social distancing and maintain
proper hygiene during this period.
The celebrity couple were
arraigned at an Ogba Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos on Monday, April
6. They both pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 14 days community
service and ordered to pay fines of N100,000 each.
Burna Boy
Damini
Ogulu, aka Burna Boy is one of the biggest music artistes in Africa at
the moment. But he also seems to have a knack for getting into trouble.
In
2017, Burna Boy, was arrested for alleged involvement in the robbery of
his colleague, Abiye Jumbo, popularly called Mr 2kay. He was
subsequently arraigned before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court in Lagos on
two counts of ‘accessory to after fact and failing to give information
to the police on the attack’.
Before his arraignment, the singer
had been declared wanted by the then Lagos State Commissioner of Police,
Edgal Imohimi, following his refusal to respond to an invitation by the
police.
Four suspects, including Burna Boy’s road manager, Joel
Kantiock, had been paraded for allegedly robbing Mr 2Kay on October 22,
2017, in his room at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos,
after a show.
The suspects allegedly confessed that Burna Boy
mobilised them with an initial cash sum of N50,000 and a subsequent sum
of N50,000 to carry out the attack.
Meanwhile, the ‘Ye’ singer
was allegedly barred from the United Kingdom for some years on account
of a gang-related crime. The ban was allegedly lifted in 2016 though
Ogulu maintained in an interview that he came to Nigeria of his own
volition and was not deported from the UK.
Wizkid
Star
Boy Entertainment boss, Ayodeji Balogun, aka Wizkid, was reported to
the police by blogger, Linda Ikeji, after he threatened to attack her.
Ikeji
had published a story that Wizkid was served a quit notice at his
Lekki, Lagos, home. The singer however refuted the report, also adding
that he would send his 16-year-old cousin to beat her up.
Apparently
not wanting to let the threat go unreported, Ikeji made a formal
complaint to the Lagos State Command of the police and Wizkid was
invited to the station. She later stated that Wizkid, through his
lawyers, apologised to her. He also formally apologised at the police
station and wrote an undertaking.
Dammy Krane
Oyindamola
Emmanuel, popularly known as Dammy Krane, was arrested on Friday, June
2, 2017 on charges of alleged grand theft third
degree/armed/conspiracy/credit card forgery/intent to defraud after a
complaint was made by an American aviation company, Tapjets.
According
to Tapjets, the singer used five different credit cards which did not
belong to him while trying to book a private jet.
He was released
from jail in Miami after meeting his bail conditions, set at $7,500. He
pleaded not guilty to the charges. He claimed that a promoter who had
booked him for a show was the one that made the travel arrangements with
the credit cards in question. However, this was after he spent three
days in custody.
He was subsequently acquitted of all the charges.
Naira Marley
The
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission arrested popular singer, Afeez
Fashola, otherwise known as Naira Marley, and four others in relation
to alleged advance fee fraud and related cyber crimes on May 10, 2019.
The
singer was arrested shortly after his song, ‘Am I a Yahoo Boy’ was
released. He was slammed with 11- count charges and arraigned before a
Federal High Court in Lagos.
In December 2019, the ‘Tesumole’
singer was declared wanted by the police. It was alleged that the
singer, his two siblings and a cousin had driven away a car that hit his
motorcade on their way to a show on Victoria Island, Lagos. The charges
against the singer were later withdrawn by the police.
Not a
stranger to controversies and run-ins with the law, Marley was also
detained by the Nigeria Police after he attended a house party hosted by
actress, Funke Akindele, to mark her husband, JJC Skillz’ birthday in
their house in Lagos despite the lockdown in the state. Later, the
charges against him were dropped by the Lagos State government.
Ibinabo Fiberesima
In
2009, actress and former beauty queen, Ibinabo Fiberesima, was sued by
the family of a medical doctor, Giwa Suraj, for reckless driving, which
resulted in the death of the doctor.
The case went on for a while
but in 2016, Fiberesima was sentenced to five years in prison by a
Federal High Court sitting in Lagos. She was however granted bail in the
sum of N2m and told to provide two sureties by the Court of Appeal in
Lagos, pending the determination of her appeal at the Supreme Court.
Baba Suwe
In
2011, actor, Babatunde Omidina, aka Baba Suwe, was arrested by the
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, on the allegation that he had
ingested substances suspected to be hard drugs. He was detained after a
body scanner at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja,
Lagos, allegedly identified suspected hard drugs in his stomach on his
way out of the country.
However, after more than three weeks of
observation in detention, officials of the NDLEA admitted that he didn’t
excrete any drugs.
He was subsequently released on bail and a
Lagos High Court later ordered that the NDLEA should pay him the sum of
N25m as compensation for illegal detention.
Almost a decade after, Omidina maintained that the NDLEA had not paid him.
Lola Margaret
Actress,
Lola Margaret, was arrested in the United States of America in 2018.
She was reported to be in detention for two weeks after she allegedly
tried to withdraw a huge amount of money deposited in her account.
She
was later released and deported from the US to Nigeria. Upon her return
to the country, the actress kept mum on the case but earlier this year
(in January), at the private screening of a movie produced by Faithia
Williams, she claimed to be a victim of circumstance. She said,
“I trusted a friend who betrayed me and led to my arrest. But here I am today enjoying myself. Life has to go on.”
Taiwo AkinwadeIn
September 2006, actress, Taiwo Akinwade, popularly called Wunmi, was
arrested by the NDLEA at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport,
Ikeja, as she was about to board a plane to London. She later excreted
92 wraps of cocaine at the NDLEA cell where she was detained. In January
2007, she was eventually sentenced to three years in prison or pay a
fine of N1m.
Uche OdoputaIn 2007, actor, Uche
Odoputa, was arrested by the Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency for
drug trafficking and was jailed for two years and three weeks.
In
an interview with Punch after his release from jail, the Imo State
indigene stated that he was faced with financial issues which led him
into the illegal act. He said, “I regret my actions. I was a growing
brand and a lot of people were angered by my action. I was disappointed
in myself. I thank God I came out of prison a changed person.
Sauce KidRapper, Babalola Falemi, aka Sauce Kid (Sinzu) was, in 2017, arrested in the US for aggravated identity theft.
He
was sentenced to two years in jail after he pleaded guilty to the
crime, which was described in the US penal code as the unlawful taking
of the property of another person or business, ranging from $1000 to
$500,000.
Sinzu was said to have stolen over 15 bank cards,
encoded the bank numbers into blank cards, changed the PINs, and
withdrew cash from Automated Teller Machines. He allegedly stole $15,388
from the unsuspecting victims.
He eventually served his sentence in a federal prison and has since regained his freedom.
