Seun Kuti, a Nigerian musician and son of the late Afrobeat icon Fela Kuti, has been arrested and charged for allegedly assaulting a police officer in Lagos, according to the state police.
The police said they issued a warrant for Kuti’s arrest on Saturday after a video circulated online showing him shouting and apparently hitting and shoving a police officer on a street.
He surrendered himself to the police headquarters in Lagos on Monday morning, accompanied by a lawyer and a family member, a police spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, said 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 son of Fela Kuti, who popularized Afrobeat – a fusion of funk and jazz – in the 1980s.
He was a charismatic figure and activist who fiercely criticized Nigeria’s military regimes and corrupt elite. He died in 1997 but his legacy lives on.
His son began playing in his band, Egypt 80, at the age of nine and took over as the leader when he was 14, after his father’s death.
In 2019, Kuti and the group were nominated for a Grammy, the highest US music award, for their album Black Times in the global music category.
