ON Tuesday, May 16, 2023, a Twitter user, @Dhavidote claimed that the embattled Afrobeat singer, Seun Kuti is from Ghana following his arrest for allegedly slapping a police officer.
Seun Kuti gained widespread attention on May 13, 2023, when a 12-second footage of him assaulting a police officer on the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos State went viral.
After the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, issued an arrest warrant for the defendant, Kuti voluntarily surrendered himself at the Lagos State Police Command in Ikeja on Monday.
Subsequently, he was transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department in Panti, Lagos State, where he underwent further processing.
On Tuesday, Kuti was brought before a Yaba Magistrate’s Court and charged with the offence of assaulting a police officer, which is in violation of Section 356 of the Nigerian Criminal Code.
The tweet has garnered over 1.9 million views, around 4,900 retweets and more than 28,000 likes as of Wednesday, May 17, 2023.
CLAIM
Ghanaian musician from Kumasi “Seun Kuti” after assaulting a Ghana police officer was arrested yesterday.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.
Seun Kuti was born on January 11, 1983, in Lagos, Nigeria. He is the youngest son of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the legendary Nigerian musician and political activist, and his mother is Remi Kuti.
Seun was born and hailed from Lagos, Nigeria and was exposed to music from an early age, as his father, Fela, was a prominent figure in the Afrobeat music genre. He is known for carrying on his father’s musical legacy.
Also, he told Daily Trust in a news report why he slapped the Nigerian policeman and not a Ghana police officer.
The FactCheckHub had earlier fact-checked and found to be false, a similar claim that Tiwa Savage, is a Ghanaian following her live performance at the coronation of Britain’s King Charles III.
THE VERDICT
The claim that Seun Kuti is a Ghanaian musician from Kumasi is FALSE; findings show that he is a Nigerian born Afrobeat musician.
Nurudeen Akewushola is a fact-checker with FactCheckHub. He has authored several fact checks which have contributed to the fight against information disorder. You can reach him via [email protected] and @NurudeenAkewus1 via Twitter.
