News
Portable sent to prison over criminal defamation, cyberstalking charges
Two days after his arrest by operatives of the Kawar State Command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Habeeb Okikiola Badmus, eccentric musician, popularly known as Portable, was on Monday remanded at Okekura Correctional center pending when he’ll perfect his bail condition.
The singer, who was arrested on Saturday, following a petition by King Saheed Osupa, another Yoruba popular musician, and arraigned in court in criminal defamation, intimidation, inciting disturbance, and cyberstalking, and later granted bail by the court, was in court with two of his wives.
The singer, as part of his bail condition, is to produce two sureties with the sum of N1million each, one of whom must be either the Chairman or Secretary of the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PMAN), while the other must own a landed property in a Government Reserved Area (GRA) with a valid Certificate of Occupancy (C of O).
Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, a Superintendent of Police (SP) and spokesman of the command had said on Sunday night said Osupa had alleged that Portable, during a live Instagram broadcast on March 19, 2025, made defamatory remarks against him, accusing him of jealousy and attempts to sabotage his career.
In the viral video, Portable was quoted as saying: “This man dey try bring down my shine! He be like person wey dey chop snail with shell—him no get sense. Osupa na tortoise. When Apple Music and Spotify wan drop money for me, na him remove my song from platform make I no see money.”
The police stated that based on the petition, a First Information Report (FIR) 117(1) CPC, was initiated by the State Intelligence Department (SID), on March 21, 2025, adding that the charges were filed based on direct instructions from police authorities and was arraigned under multiple legal provisions including; Section 392 (Criminal Defamation), Section 114 (Inciting Disturbance), Section 397 (Criminal Intimidation) of the Penal Code,
Sections 24(1)(b) and 24(2)(c) of the Cybercrimes Act, 2015, Sections 10 and 13 of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law, 2020 Police Officer, Adeniyi James, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) who investigated the matter, where: “Portable confessed to the allegations during interrogation at the SID in Ilorin.”
The case was adjourned to 30th April 2025 while the trial judge, urged both parties to remain civil as the legal process, while the singer was ordered to remain in the custodial centre till perfection of his bail.
Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, had said: “The petition borders on serious allegations which includes criminal defamation, threat to life, incitement, character assassination, conduct likely to cause a breach of peace and the use of abusive and insulting words.
“In view of the weight of these allegations and the supporting evidence presented, the Command secured a valid arrest warrant from a Magistrate Court sitting in Ilorin. Acting on this warrant, operatives from the Command proceeded to Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Saturday, 13th April 2025, where the suspect was apprehended at about 19:25hrs. He was immediately brought to Ilorin for further investigation.
“Upon his arrival, the suspect’s statement was taken in the presence of legal representatives from both parties. He is currently in custody, and arrangements are being made to charge him to court without delay.”
Peter Obi, candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has given assignment to Nigerians to put all those aspiring to take up political positions in the country through the grill to ascertain their level of integrity, saying it was required as a sine qua non for the job they seek.
Obi, who has been a subject of discussion in the polity since the allegation of corruption was levied against him by Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesman of his campaign in 2023, over the conduct of the party’s primaries to choose candidates for the 2027 general elections, said the grilling must start with his own person.
A guest in an interview on a podcast with Rufai Oseni, a popular television anchor, the former Governor of Anambra State, stated that it was actually for this reason that he had now sworn to see the litigation he instituted against Okonkwo through.
His take is that the Nollywood actor should use the courtrooms to give all the details of bad behaviour, following his threat to expose him fully, after alleging that he was collecting money from aspirants in the said election for electoral favours.
Hear him: “The issue of taking Kenneth Okonkwo to court wouldn’t have arisen if he had stopped at those allegations. But he claimed he still has more he would expose about me in the future. So, I am very happy to take him to court so that he can expose me publicly, alongside other Nigerians. If any of them has any criminal allegations against me, they should bring them to court.
“Not just Kenneth, everybody should now say those things they know that is bad about me or I did that is wrong because it’s good for the system, it’s good for the society,” Obi said.
“So, if you know that when we were in primary school, this man was cheating or didn’t go to the primary school, didn’t go to secondary school, didn’t do, if you know this man has done something criminal somewhere, this is time to bring it up.”
For the umpteenth time, Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has warned about the dangerous implication of using state institutions, particularly the judiciary to destroy Nigeria’s democracy, saying it is an ill-wind that blows nobody any good.
Atiku, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), speaking on the heels of Tuesday’s verdict of the Court of Appeal, halting the de-registration order by the Federal High Court, insisted that judicial officers must not lend themselves to any act capable of undermining the nation’s democratic process.
The appellate court had ordered a stay of execution on the order made on Monday by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court Abuja, for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the ADC alongside four other political parties).
A totally scandalised Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, had taken umbrage, sparing no hard words in upbraiding the lower court judge, stating that his likes were unfit to sit on the bench.
In a unanimous ruling by a three-man panel, the court held that Lifu’s action was “the highest form of judicial impertinence”, stressing that the Supreme Court previously held that a judge who acted in such a manner.
Describing his conduct as the height of judicial rascality, the upper court, stated: “Courts are enjoined to protect their integrity. This Court has supervisory authority over the trial court.
“The decision of the lower court to proceed with the judgment despite the express order of this court is a brazen violation of the hierarchy of the court and the 1999 Constitution.
This court has the duty to invoke its powers in ensuring that its orders are obeyed. The application for a stay of execution is here yet granted. The enforcement of the judgment is stayed.”
Atiku, who hailed the position of the higher court, which restored his hope to be on the ballot as presidential candidate in the 2027 election, also noted the role of INEC as “significant.”
He said: “I welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to stay the execution of the Federal High Court judgement seeking the deregistration of our great party, the ADC, and four other political parties. It is particularly significant that INEC itself initiated the application for the stay.
“The development reflects growing public concern over judicial contradictions and politically charged rulings within the judiciary. “Any attempt to undermine Nigeria’s hard-won democracy through judicial manipulation is a grave danger to the Republic. If our democracy suffers further injury, history will demand accountability from those entrusted with dispensing justice.
Outside ADC, Lifu’s order, also included: Action Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), similarly slammed for allegedly failing to meet the constitutional requirements for continued registration and participation in elections.
“He is running in contempt of the court. Justice Lifu should be arrested because he is acting in contempt of the court which is a criminal act,” were the exact words with which the African Democratic Congress (ADC), demonstrated its angst over the court ruling on Monday, ordering its de-registration as a political party in Nigeria.
A furious Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesman of the party, told his host while appearing as a guest on Monday’s edition of Politics Today, a public affairs programme on Channels Television that the judge of the Abuja Federal High Court who gave the order was actually playing with fire because of the consequences.
Directly accusing him of playing the script of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to ensure that President Bola Tinubu emerged the sole candidate for the 2027 presidential election, the party spokesman, was emphatic that the plan would not work, as head or tail, ADC must be on the ballot in all the elections.
Hear him: “There is a Court of Appeal order saying don’t hear this case until October 27. So, on what basis? You can’t place something on nothing. The Court of Appeal said don’t act on this until I hear it on October 27. So, on what basis did he deliver the judgement
“So, for us in the African Democratic Congress, what we’re convinced and they know is what they have done has no leg to stand on legally. What they want to do is to create doubts in the minds of the people that this ADC has too many legal cases, can we actually run on this? And to distract us. But we’re not distracted.
“We’re very clear. It was in spite of all they have done since ADC came on board that we ran one of the best and one of the most comprehensive direct primaries in the history of democracy in Nigeria. So, we are strong enough to withstand this. And that’s why I’m saying that we are going to contest in 2027. We’re ADC. We don’t buckle before dictatorship.”
Stressing on the implication of the judgement, which also affected Accord Party (AP), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) for allegedly failing to meet constitutional and electoral performance requirements, following a suit by the National Forum of Former Legislators, he said it portended grave danger.
He added: “We are not surprised. We know that the Nigerian people believe that there is a problem with the judiciary, but what we did not expect is the level of judicial rascality that was demonstrated today.
“What we are saying is that we reject it in its totality, and we are saying that the people behind this are playing with fire. Hundreds, if not thousands, have obtained nomination forms and contested elections and emerged as candidates on the platform of the ADC.”
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