Reno Omokri, the former presidential aide, has pleaded on behalf of Afrobeat singer Seun Kuti.
Omokri begged the Nigerian Police to pardon Kuti, saying he’s suffering from post-traumatic disorder (PTSD).
Taking to his social page, Omokri wrote:
“What Seun did was wrong. And I condemn it. But Seun has a history with the police and the military that has scarred him for life. They beat his Septuagenarian grandmother and threw her from the first floor to the ground. She died from the injuries sustained. His father carried her coffin to Dodan barracks in tears! Till today, NOBODY was punished for the crime against Olufunmilayo Kuti.
“They beat his father to an inch of his life. Multiple times. They burnt down their residence, with multiple cars and other property. They were never paid compensation. The police raided the shrine episodically, right from when Seun was a baby to his adulthood.
“And even in this incident involving the slap, there was provocation from the policeman. I am not saying that the provocation justified the slap. My motive is just to put things in context.
“What he did was condemnable. It is unacceptable. But when you look at his personal history, there are mitigating circumstances. And I beg the Inspector General of Police to take Seun’s Post Traumatic Stress Disorder into account. Because even Buhari’s wife, Aisha, admitted that her husband also suffers from PTSD due to his experience with the Nigerian state apparatus.
The police is as institutionally to blame for what happened to that policeman as Seun. Let us do equity here and not just justice.”
