Police Rearrest TikToker Seaking in Court, Flies Him to Abuja
posted 6th February 2025
Lagos, Nigeria — February 6, 2025: In a startling display of what legal experts are calling an egregious abuse of the legal process, officers of the Nigeria Police Force rearrested popular TikToker, Mr. Olumide Ogunsanwo, also known as Seaking, within the premises of the Magistrate Court of Lagos State sitting in Ogba today. He was subsequently taken to the State Police Command in Ikeja before being flown to Abuja from Murtala Muhammed Airport.
Seaking was initially arrested on December 20, 2024, and brought before the Magistrate Court on December 23, 2024, for remand proceedings. Despite the police’s request for a 30-day remand, the court denied the application, granted Seaking bail, and instructed the police to forward a duplicate case file to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for legal advice. The matter was adjourned to January 16, 2025, for the DPP’s report.
At the January 16 session, Seaking appeared in court, but the prosecution was notably absent. Consequently, the case was adjourned to today, February 6, 2025. During today’s proceedings, a police prosecutor requested another adjournment to file proof of compliance with the court’s earlier orders. The Magistrate granted the request, giving the police seven days to submit the required documentation, with the next hearing scheduled
However, shortly after the proceedings, Seaking was rearrested by the Nigeria Police Force, despite being on court-granted bail. Legal representatives and human rights advocates have strongly condemned the action, describing it as a flagrant violation of the rule of law.
“It is utterly condemnable that the same Nigeria Police Force, which initiated ongoing legal proceedings in Lagos, would brazenly rearrest our client, who is on bail granted by the court, and move him to Abuja,” said Inibehe Effiong, Seaking’s legal counsel.
Effiong called on the Inspector General of Police to intervene immediately, denouncing the rearrest as “an outrageous charade and an egregious abuse of the legal process.”
“The fact that the Nigeria Police Force, supposed to be Nigeria’s primary law enforcement agency, is actively leading the assault on the rule of law is evidence of the alarming state of impunity and lawlessness in the country,” Effiong added.
