Notable lawyer Deji Adeyanju has expressed outrage over the continued detention of Nigerian rapper Speed Darlington, despite a Federal High Court ruling granting him unconditional bail.
Speed Darlington has remained in police custody since November 27, following his re-arrest in Owerri, Imo State. The re-arrest stemmed from a petition reportedly filed by fellow artist Burna Boy, which initially led to his detention in October.
On Monday, December 23, the Federal High Court in Abuja granted the rapper bail, requiring only that his legal team present the ruling to the police legal department for processing. The department was then expected to forward the order to the Force Investigation Department (FID), where Speed Darlington is held, to facilitate his release.
While the legal team has reportedly fulfilled its obligations by submitting the court order, the police have yet to act, keeping the rapper in detention.
Adeyanju, taking to his X (formerly Twitter) account on Thursday, strongly criticized the Nigeria Police for their failure to comply with the court’s decision.
“The Nigerian Police have refused to release Speed Darlington a.k.a AKPI despite the explicit order of the Federal High Court to do so. This is the highest form of disrespect to the judiciary,” Adeyanju wrote.
He further cited the challenges of getting support from Nigerians who blatantly argued that Speed Darlington deserved a taste of his poison for frequently attacking people’s brands and character.
“Yesterday makes it 31 days since he has been in detention. People are saying stop the emotional blackmail; why don’t you advise your client. Let’s move on from that because those things are nonsense; it could be you,” Alieke said.
He further lamented the lack of support from influential figures, contrasting it with a past incident where Burna Boy intervened.
“I’ve exhausted my connections; no one wants to help Speed Darlington. The first time he was arrested, Burna Boy showed up with his team and handed out bundles of cash to the police officers,” he revealed.
Meanwhile, Burna boy in his Instagram story, has states that he does not care about people’s opinions, but his response is always a nuclear disaster.
According to him, his critics are lucky that he has a lot to lose, otherwise, many of them would not be here anymore.
He wrote, “When they talk, nobody cares, but it’s a Nuclear disaster when I react.
“You all don’t know how lucky you are that I have too much to lose now, Walahi a lot of you wouldn’t be here no more. Anyway make I just go buy another thing relax.”
