Ilorin court grants Portable bail as PMAN officials named as sureties
By Mosunmola Ayobami and Tosin Brown
An Upper Area Court sitting in Ilorin has granted Nigerian hip-hop singer, Habeeb Okikiola, popularly known as Portable, bail in the sum of N1 million following his arraignment on charges of criminal defamation, intimidation, inciting disturbance, and cyberstalking.
The bail was granted on Monday, with the court mandating two sureties in like sum. One of the sureties must be either the Chairman or Secretary of the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PMAN), while the other must own landed property in a Government Reserved Area (GRA) with a valid Certificate of Occupancy (C of O).
The case, filed under First Information Report (FIR) 117(1) CPC, was initiated by the State Intelligence Department (SID) of the Nigeria Police following a petition by popular Fuji singer, Saheed Okunola, also known as Osupa, on March 21, 2025.
In the petition, Osupa alleged that Portable, during a live Instagram broadcast on March 19, 2025, made defamatory statements against him, accusing him of jealousy and attempts to sabotage his career.
In the viral video, Portable was quoted as saying: “This man dey try bring down my shine! He be like person wey dey chop snail with shell—him no get sense. Osupa na tortoise. When Apple Music and Spotify wan drop money for me, na him remove my song from platform make I no see money.”
Osupa described the comments as defamatory, inciting, and damaging to his reputation. He also claimed the video caused public tension and unrest.
According to police investigators, Portable confessed to the allegations during interrogation at the SID in Ilorin.
