Why We Arrested Singer Harrysong – Lagos Police

The Lagos Command of the Nigeria Police Force has confirmed the arrest of a popular Nigerian singer, Harrysong, whose real name is Harry Okiri.

SP Benjamin Hundeyin, the spokesperson for the command, told THE WHISTLER on Tuesday that Harrysong’s arrest “happened today, at the airport just as he arrived in the country.”

Hundeyin, who spoke to our correspondent via telephone interview, said the singer was arrested in connection with “an investigation into the allegation of defamation of character and threat to life.”

The police spokesperson didn’t reveal who wrote the petition against the singer but it was reported that Harrysong recently accused a music executive, Soso Soberekon, of hiring assassins to kill him in his home in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The latter in turn petitioned the police.

Harrysong had made the claim during an interview on the Frankly Speaking podcast hosted by comedian, Nedu.

Speaking partly in Pidgin English, he had said: “Ninety percent of friendship, my guy my gee are all fake, there are people I have been working with for years. If I call their name, you go say na ur guy be this, they no be my guys see as a matter of fact, those are my real enemies, if you see SoSo, you will say he is my friend, no SoSo na my enemy.

“If you see Soso now, you will think he is my friend. He sent people to come and kill me in my house in Port Harcourt.”

Meanwhile, Harrysong also confirmed his arrest in a terse statement signed by his management and posted on his Instagram Story on Tuesday.

The post read, “I got arrested as I landed in Lagos. My phone has been seized and they won’t allow me to communicate with my people.”

Soberekon, in the petition written to the Inspector General of Police on his behalf, said: “Our client has consequently directed us to request for a retraction of the said publication and an apology to be published in two newspapers and several online news millets not later than seven days of the delivery of this letter and also the payment of the sum of N500,000,000.00 (Five Hundred Million Naira) as damages and compensation for the malicious publications made against our client.

“TAKE NOTICE that if you fail to heed the request of our client within seven days of the receipt of this letter, we shall be constrained to proceed to the court of law against you for exemplary damages for injurious falsehood and malicious publication made of and concerning our client.”

Soberekon was Harrisong’s best man during his wedding in Warri, Delta State, in 2021.