Seun Kuti, a musician from Nigeria and the son of Fela Kuti, an Afrobeat music legend, was detained on Monday for reportedly attacking a police officer. According to the police, an arrest warrant was issued for Grammy-nominated saxophonist and singer Kuti on Saturday after a video showing him screaming and appearing to push and smack a police officer on the street went viral. A lawyer and a member of his family were present when he surrendered early on Monday to the Lagos State Police Command headquarters, according to police spokesperson Benjamin Hundeyin on Twitter.
“He has been placed under arrest in line with the law,” he said. The ongoing investigation will be detailed, transparent, professionally pursued; and justice will be manifestly served for all parties involved.”
Kuti, 40, is the youngest child of Fela Kuti, who popularized Afrobeat in the 1980s as a potent fusion of jazz and funk. Fela Kuti was a charismatic figure and activist who fiercely criticized Nigeria’s military governments and corrupt elite. He passed away in 1997 but continues to have a devoted following. At just the age of nine, his son joined his band Egypt 80 and eventually took over as leader after his father passed away. In 2019, Kuti and the group were nominated for a Grammy, the paramount US music awards, for their album Black Times in the Global Music category.
