KEY POINTS

• Ogun High Court in Ota denied bail to singer Portable over assault, theft and related charges.
• The judge cited the absence of an allegedly assaulted police officer as reason for withholding bail.
• The case was adjourned to January 19 for a fresh hearing on the bail application

An Ogun State High Court in Ota has denied bail to the controversial singer Habeeb Okikiola, also known as Portable, after he was charged with several crimes.

The singer was taken to court on nine charges, including assault, theft, causing bodily harm, and resisting arrest.

The judge in charge of the case turned down bail after hearing arguments from both sides. He said that a police officer who was said to have been attacked during the incident was not present.

The court said that the officer’s testimony was very important for deciding the bail request and that a decision couldn’t be made without it.

Singer Remanded as Case Is Adjourned

After the decision, Portable was told to stay in jail until the next court date. The court put off the case until January 19 so that a new hearing could be held on the bail application.

The singer will stay in jail while prosecutors get ready to call more witnesses and deal with the problems that the court brought up during the first hearing.

The Ogun State Police Command said earlier that the charges came from a complaint made by Portable’s ex-partner, Ashabi Simple. Oluseyi Babaseyi, the police spokesperson, said that investigations started after reports of a violent event at the singer’s bar in the Iyana Ilogbo area of the state on New Year’s Day.

The prosecution says that Portable hit Ashabi, attacked several police officers, and hurt other people who were there at the time.