A Nigerian Disc Jockey known as The Turnup Maestro, or DJ Trendy on X (formerly Twitter), shared a harrowing account of his experience being detained and transferred to the Kirikiri Custodial Center in Lagos State.
The ordeal began on July 7, 2024, when officers from the Olosan Police Station raided the lounge where DJ Trendy works, dispersing customers and seizing his laptop. Upon arriving at the scene, DJ Trendy found his laptop missing and was informed that the police had taken it.
Two days later, on July 9, the lounge’s manager and the owner’s wife went to the police station to retrieve the laptop, but were told that DJ Trendy needed to be present for its release. When he arrived at the station, DJ Trendy was asked to write a statement and was subsequently accused of being a cultist. Both he and the lounge manager were detained.
In his tweets, DJ Trendy recounted that he and the manager were held incommunicado in a cell, unable to contact anyone, including the lounge owner’s wife. On July 10, they were released but kept behind the counter at the station. Shortly after, they were handcuffed and taken to a Magistrate Court in Ogba, without being informed of their destination.
At the court, the duo managed to pass the lounge owner’s contact to a lawyer, who alerted the lounge owner just before their case was called. Despite the police’s false allegations, the judge granted them bail. However, they were transferred to the Kirikiri Correctional Facility as the bail was not immediately perfected.
They spent two days at Kirikiri before being released on July 12, but DJ Trendy’s laptop remained at the police station. He expressed his trauma and distress, noting that he had always been law-abiding and felt betrayed by the police. Despite multiple attempts to contact the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, there was no response.
This incident highlights significant concerns regarding police conduct and the treatment of citizens in Nigeria.
