A demonstration was held on Tuesday by Nigerian protesters to call for the freedom of Afrobeat star Seun Kuti, who was detained earlier this month after allegedly attacking a police officer in Lagos, the commercial capital of Nigeria.
Kuti is the son of Fela, a Nigerian musical legend and political activist who was repeatedly arrested by Nigerian military regimes.
The police have not released him even though he met the conditions for his bail.
Kuti’s court appearance was postponed from May 23 because the presiding Magistrate Justice did not show up, without an official reason.
The court clerk said the case will resume on Wednesday.
A group calling themselves the “Free Seun Kuti campaign” protested outside the court, demanding the artist’s immediate release.
One of the protesters, Gideon Adeyeni, said the government and the police are “interested in persecuting him” by the way they have treated him.
The Lagos State Police Command accused Kuti of assaulting a police officer.
A passer-by recorded the incident between Seun Kuti and the police officer on video and posted it on social media, where it went viral.
The police then issued an arrest warrant for him, and he surrendered to the Lagos police.
The police prosecutor asked the court to keep the defendant in custody for 21 days until they get legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.
Seun’s defense team has rejected this request.