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A magistrate’s court in Ogba, Lagos, has granted bail to TikToker Olumide Ogunsanwo, popularly known as Seaking, setting the amount at ₦500,000 with two sureties in the same sum.
The court’s decision on Monday followed Seaking’s arrest on Saturday after he posted a video on social media allegedly inciting attack on police officers should they “pass their boundaries”
In its ruling, the court stipulated that one of the sureties must be a family member, while both must reside in Lagos and be gainfully employed.
Seaking’s lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, disclosed that his client faced charges including treason, cyberstalking, and conduct likely to provoke a breach of peace.
Effiong recounted that the police initially denied him access to Seaking while the detainee was held at the state police command in Ikeja.
He added that his team, along with Seaking’s wife and their six-month-old baby, were barred from seeing him.
“We were waiting to meet with the police commissioner when Seaking was discreetly transferred to the Ogba magistrate’s court for remand proceedings,” Effiong revealed.
The legal team acted swiftly to intercept the proceedings and challenged the police’s request to detain Seaking for 30 days, arguing that the grounds were insufficient.
“Thankfully, we intercepted the information and proceeded immediately to the court premises where we met Seaking with the police officers,” Effiong shared in a post on X.
“To our consternation, the Nigeria Police filed a remand application and annexed a charge to it wherein they’re accusing him of treason, cyberstalking, conduct likely to cause breach of peace and provoking breach of peace.
“They are claiming that he called on Nigerian youths to ‘wage war’ against the police. We opposed the application for remand on multiple grounds, while urging the court to refuse the application to remand him for 30 days pending DPP advice.
“We applied that he should be admitted to bail in line with the provisions of Section 264 (5) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State. The court considered arguments from both sides and upheld our position, and held that the police failed to show probable cause why he should be remanded for 30 days.
“The Learned Magistrate accordingly admitted Seaking to bail on liberal terms; specifically in the sum of ₦500,000 with two sureties in like sum. One of the sureties should be his family member and the sureties should be resident in Lagos State and be gainfully employed.”
The court has adjourned the case to January 16, 2025, pending advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
