By Elizabeth Godwin
Controversial Nigerian street-hop artiste, Habeeb Okikiola, popularly known as Portable, has been sentenced to three months’ imprisonment by the Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Ifo, Ogun State. The sentence comes with an option of a ₦30,000 fine.
The judgement followed Portable’s conviction on charges of assaulting a police officer and resisting lawful arrest. Chief Magistrate Babajide Ilo delivered the verdict, sentencing the musician to one month in prison or a ₦10,000 fine for assault (Count 1), and two months or a ₦20,000 fine for obstruction of arrest (Count 2). The sentences are to run concurrently.
Portable was earlier arrested in March 2023 after allegedly attacking a police inspector and obstructing officers during the execution of an arrest warrant.
According to the Police Prosecutor, Inspector Olumide Awoleke, the offences were committed on November 18, 2022, at approximately 11:00 a.m. in the Okeosa area of Ilogbo, within the Ifo Magisterial District.
The charge sheet detailed the allegations as follows:
“That you, Badmus Habeeb Okikiola a.k.a. Portable, and others now at large, on the 18th day of November 2022 at about 11:00 hours in Okeosa, Ilogbo, within the Ifo Magisterial District, did conspire among yourselves to commit a felony, to wit: assault, thereby committing an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 517 of the Criminal Code Laws of Ogun State, 2006.”
It further alleged that the defendant unlawfully assaulted one Emmanuel Oluwafemi, a male police officer, by physically attacking him, in violation of Section 351 of the same legal code.
Portable was also accused of theft of musical equipment, including a Yamaha H55 studio monitor, a Studio 2 interface connection cable, and an AKG P420 condenser microphone. These allegations were brought under Sections 383, 384, and 390 of the Criminal Code Laws of Ogun State, although no conviction was recorded on the theft-related charge.
The court’s judgement brings a legal chapter to a series of controversial incidents involving the singer, who has remained a prominent — and often polarizing — figure in Nigeria’s music industry.
