Seaking Arrested After Insulting Nigerian Leaders; Legal Expert Challenges Police Statement

• Nigerian TikToker Seaking was arrested after releasing a video insulting President Bola Tinubu, Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun.
• Seaking criticized the Nigerian Police for focusing on insults instead of addressing criminal behavior.
• Human rights lawyer Effiong Inibehe refuted a claim by Police spokesman Olumuyiwa Adejobi, asserting that cursing online is not a criminal offense.

Nigerian TikTok personality Seaking was apprehended by security agents shortly after posting a video on December 20, 2024, in which he directed insults at President Bola Tinubu, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun. In the video, Seaking reacted angrily to the announcement from the Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, who warned that the police would begin arresting individuals who insult government officials. Seaking questioned why the police would target those voicing criticism instead of addressing actual criminal activity.

The arrest occurred as Seaking appeared in a video, somber and under interrogation by security officers, circulating widely on social media.

Meanwhile, human rights lawyer Effiong Inibehe publicly challenged the police’s stance on online cursing. Inibehe responded to a statement by Adejobi, who declared that cursing someone online constitutes cyberbullying, a criminal offense. Inibehe labeled Adejobi’s statement as “ignorance of the law,” arguing that cursing does not qualify as a crime unless specifically defined under Nigerian law. He cited Section 36 (12) of the Nigerian Constitution, which requires criminal offenses to be explicitly written into law, and urged Nigerians to disregard what he considered a misleading legal opinion.