The Lagos State Police Command has released popular street singer Habeeb Okikiola, better known as Portable, after he spent a night in a police cell.
Portable was arrested on Tuesday in the Abule Egba area of Lagos for allegedly refusing to pay the remaining balance on a G-Wagon vehicle he purchased from a car dealer.
The ‘Zazoo Zeh’ singer reportedly bought the vehicle for ₦27 million but only paid ₦13 million, leaving a balance of ₦14 million.
In a viral video, Portable was seen scaling a gate as policemen approached him with an arrest warrant. Another video showed him being handcuffed, dragged, and transported by about four policemen into a waiting vehicle.
During the incident, a woman’s voice, identifying herself as the car dealer, was heard in the background using expletives and recounting how Portable threatened her when she asked for the remaining payment.
State police spokesman Benjamin Hundeyin told Channels Television that the singer was granted bail on Wednesday after spending Tuesday night in police custody. He added that Portable and the car dealer are expected to return on a later date.
“He (Portable) has been released; he was granted bail on Wednesday to come back with the complainant later,” Hundeyin said, adding that “the outcome of that meeting will determine our next line of action.”
This is not the singer’s first run-in with the police. In April 2023, the ‘Zazoo Zeh’ crooner was arrested by the Ogun State police and arraigned on five counts related to alleged assault and theft at the Ifo Magistrate Court in the Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State. He was subsequently remanded at the Ilaro Correctional Centre but was released after meeting his bail conditions.