Controversial musician Habeeb Okikiola, popularly known as Portable, may have unwittingly demarketed his brand in an effort to avoid police investigation. The Ogun State Police Command had declared him wanted for alleged assault on town planning officials on enforcement duty in the Ilogbo area of the state where he has a bar.
He allegedly led thugs in an attack on three unarmed officials from the Ogun State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Ota Zonal Office: Onabanjo Abidemi, Raymond Lateef, and Ridwan Oyero Akinlesi. He was said to have been armed with a firearm. The police said the enforcement officers sustained injuries. They arrested nine suspects. Portable went into hiding.
The police stated that they had invited him formally multiple times to answer questions concerning the incident, but he had ignored their invitations. They had then “obtained a valid court order declaring him wanted.”
After the police declared him wanted, he posted a video on Instagram in which he claimed to be mentally unstable and receiving treatment at the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta. He said: “I am a madman; I have medications that I usually take. You can confirm from Aro Hospital. I have a card that certifies me as one of their patients. “
However, the police response suggested they thought he was joking. “He cannot be in the psychiatric hospital in Aro. Everybody knows that he is a wanted person. So, if he is going to be in anybody’s facility, the police will not accept that. He is a wanted man,” police spokesperson in the state Omolola Odutola asserted.
The wanted man eventually gave himself up to the police in Lagos, from where he was transferred to Abeokuta. The Ogun State Police Command informed the public that Portable arrived at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Eleweran, Abeokuta, “at exactly 13:23 hours today, February 19, 2025.” Odutola said in a statement: “His presence at the SCID is connected to an ongoing investigation. The command assures the public that due process will be followed in handling this matter, and updates will be provided as necessary.”
He was subsequently arraigned for conspiracy, assault and restriction, armed with cutlasses and guns, and conduct likely to cause harm. He was granted bail, and his case was adjourned till March 5 for trial.
Having dishonestly labelled himself “a madman,” possibly expecting that the police would thereby stop looking for him, it remains to be seen whether this self-characterisation will negatively impact his brand. If it does, that would be a steep price to pay.
