Nigerian singer, Portable, has expressed his disappointment with the Ogun state police command for attempting to arrest him over allegations of assaulting and seizing equipment from his former signee, Manny Monie. The ex-signee had written a petition against Portable, alleging that he was physically assaulted and his equipment seized by the artist. The police had attempted to arrest Portable on five different occasions, but he had refused to honor their invitation.
Reacting to the situation, Portable claimed that he had the right to discipline his apprentice, Manny Monie, whom he accused of being a fraudster. He insisted that beating his apprentice did not warrant his arrest by the police. According to him, the police only got involved because Manny Monie wrote a petition against him, and he believes that his former signee only did so to get back at him for pursuing him for fraudulent activities.
Portable said that he is a boss to his apprentice, and beating him is a form of disciplinary action that he is entitled to. He accused Manny Monie of being a Yahoo boy, a term used to describe people who engage in internet fraud, and claimed that he had advised him to quit the illegal activity, but he refused to heed his advice. Portable went on to say that he flogged him as a way of disciplining him, and that his former signee had no right to write a petition against him for that.
Manny Monie, on the other hand, has claimed responsibility for Portable's troubles with the police, stating that he was the one who wrote the petition against him. He said that the police had invited Portable several times to hear his side of the story, but he refused to show up. Manny Monie accused Portable of making false allegations against him online, beating him, assaulting him, and seizing his property. He also claimed that the police had tried their best not to get Portable's name "spoiled" online, but he refused to comply.
The situation has caused a lot of controversy in Nigeria, with many people taking sides. Some have criticized Portable for his actions, while others have defended him, saying that beating an apprentice is not a crime. The police have also come under fire for attempting to arrest Portable over a non-criminal offense, while others have applauded them for taking the matter seriously.
Watch Portable speak about the situation in the video below,