The youngest son of Afrobeat great Fela Kuti, Nigerian singer and saxophonist Seun Kuti, was detained on suspicion of severely assaulting a police officer and was brought before a judge on Tuesday.

An altercation between Kuti and an unarmed policeman was captured on CCTV camera over the weekend on a popular Lagos route.

The 40-year-old rapper Kuti claimed in a tweet that the policeman had attempted to hurt him together with his family, but he did not mention the purported scheme further. CNN has contacted the Nigerian police for comment.


According to Kuti's attorney Femi Falana, a Lagos judge rejected the prosecution's request to hold Kuti for 21 days in custody.

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"The judge refused the police's request for an additional 21 days of detention. If they don't file a charge, the judge allowed them 48 hours to grant him bail, according to Falana.

If found guilty of the assault, Kuti may spend up to three years in a prison cell in Nigeria.

Grammy-nominated musician Kuti surrendered to police on Monday while being accompanied by his attorney after being ordered to be detained by Nigeria's national police commander.


Kuti has been detained as police investigate the case, according to a statement from Lagos police spokesman Benjamin Hundeyin.

Kuti, well-known for his political activity through music and blunt criticism of the government, has been a strong opponent of police abuse.

Seun Kuti has performed for audiences worldwide with Egypt 80, the band his late father was a part of and currently leads. He has done significant touring in the US, France, Japan, and the UK.

Kuti and his sibling Femi have continued his father's 1997 death-related Afrobeat legacy.

"Black Times," Seun Kuti's fourth album, received a Grammy nomination in 2019.