The Lagos State Police Command has released, on bail, musician Azeez Fashola, popularly known as Naira Marley, but said he will be arraigned on Wednesday, April 8th, 2020.

Marley was released on Tuesday, April 7th, 2020 alongside the governorship candidate of the Action Democratic Party in the state in the 2019 gubernatorial election, Babatunde Gbadamosi, and his wife, after perfecting their bail conditions.

The trio had on Monday, April 6th turned themselves in at the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Panti, Yaba, and were subsequently detained.

They ran into trouble for attending a birthday party organised by Nollywood actress, Funke Akindele-Bello, after which police ordered them to report at the SCIID.

The party was hosted by Akindele for her husband, Abdul Rasheed Bello, aka JJC Skillz, at their home located in Amen Estate in the Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos State.

More than twenty (20) people attended the party, a behaviour that contravened the state government’s social distancing guidelines, to curb the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

Akindele and JJC Skillz were, on Monday, arraigned before the Lagos State Magistrates’ Court in Ogba and they pleased guilty. They were each sentenced to 14 days of community service and also each fined N100,000 by the magistrate, Mrs. Aje Afunwa.

Mrs. Afunwa, who also ordered that the celebrity couple be placed in self-isolation. She also ordered them to compile and submit the names and phone numbers of all those people who were in attendance at the house party.

The Lagos State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, who confirmed the release of Naira Marley, Gbadamosi and his wife, however, stated that they would be charged to court on Wednesday, April 8th, 2020 (today).

He stated,

They (Gbadamosi, his wife and Fashola) are on bail because the court did not sit today (Tuesday) and we could not keep them beyond the constitutional time given. They all slept in the cell yesterday (Monday) and they have all been granted bail and asked to report back tomorrow (Wednesday) so that they can be arraigned.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.