Why Saheed Osupa withdrew case against controversial singer, Portable; prevented his re-arrest over alleged N6.3m fraud

Nigeria fuji icon, Saheed Akorede, popularly known as Osupa, on Tuesday withdrawn his legal case against controversial singer Habeeb ‘Portable’ Okikiola.

Osupa discontinued his case against Portable on Tuesday following an appeal by prominent Nigerians to settle the matter out of court.

Portable, 31, was remanded by an Upper Area Court in Ilorin, Kwara State, after failing to meet his bail conditions set by magistrate Sunday Adeniyi.

He was initially arrested by the Kwara State Police Command in response to a petition filed by Osupa.

In the petition, Portable was alleged of criminal defamation, threats to life, incitement, character assassination, conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace, and the use of abusive and insulting language.

Announcing the legal withdrawal in a statement signed by his media aide, Busari Babatunde and posted on his Instagram page Tuesday, the Fuji star outlined conditions the ‘Spider-Man’ crooner must fulfil to avoid the reinstatement of the case.

The statement partly read: “He (Osupa) hopes that Portable will seize this opportunity for reflection, growth, and transformation. As a condition of this withdrawal, Portable is expected to Retract his statement implying Saheed Osupa should be held responsible if anything happens to him

“Confess to the falsehood of the public claim of his lawyer, Chief Bar. Isaac Adebayo is about holding Saheed Osupa’s leg and begging for forgiveness because, contrary to this claim, Osupa did not even set his eyes on Portable. Henceforth, sign an undertaking to desist from cyberbullying, defamation, and character assassination. If these conditions are not met, the case may be reinstated.”

More trouble for Portable

According to reports, Osupa prevented the re-arrest of Portable after another petition surfaced against him.

Mr Yemi George, Managing Director of Starwood Hotels Ilorin, told newsmen on Tuesday that Osupa prevailed on him not to re-arrest Portable after collecting the sum of N6.3 million for a show that he did not perform.

“I have obtained every necessary document to re-arrest him today (Tuesday) in order to refund my money but out of respect for the legendary fuji musician (Osupa) , he prevailed on me not to.

“My company, Starwood Hotels O2 Arena in collaboration with the leadership of the Theatre Arts and Motion Pictures Practitioners Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN) put an event together for Portable to perform but he never did” George said.

According to a document obtained by newsmen, titled Petition for fraudulent and obtaining by false pretense the sum of N6.3m, the petitioners said they entered agreement with Portable on July 22, 2024, which he never respected.

According to the petition, Portable was paid N6.3m to perform at the ‘Kwara Tampan Fiesta’ on September 29, 2024, but failed to appear on stage at the agreed-upon time.

Despite arriving over 16 hours late, he allegedly sneaked out of his hotel lodge without fulfilling his promise to perform.

The petitioners claim that Portable’s actions caused significant financial loss and distress, and they are seeking a thorough investigation, prosecution, and restitution of the N6,300,000 allegedly obtained through fraudulent means.

The petition was signed by Chief Olu Amusan, Governor, TAMPAN and Ayodele Demokun on behalf of Starwood Hotels 02 Arena