Nigerian hip-hop artist Habeeb Okikiola, popularly known as Portable, avoided serving a three-month jail sentence after paying a court-ordered fine of N30,000.
On Tuesday, the Magistrate Court in Ifo, Ogun State, presided over by Chief Magistrate Babajide Ilo, convicted Portable of assault. Although he was sentenced to three months in prison, the court offered an alternative of a fine, which he paid.
Police Prosecutor Inspector Olumide Awoleke told the court that the offence occurred on November 18, 2022, around 11:00 a.m. in Okeosa, Ilogbo, within the Ifo Magisterial District.
According to the charge sheet, Portable and others at large conspired to commit assault, violating Section 517 of the Ogun State Criminal Code Law, 2006. He was also accused of unlawfully assaulting one Osimosu Emmanuel Oluwafemi, which falls under Section 351 of the same law.
In addition, he faced allegations of stealing music equipment, including a Yamaha H55 studio monitor, interface cables, and an AKG P420 condenser microphone. These acts were said to violate Sections 383 and 384, and are punishable under Section 390 of the law.
The court found him guilty on the first two counts. He received a one-month sentence with a N10,000 fine option for the first count and a two-month sentence with a N20,000 fine option for the second.
Portable was initially arraigned in April 2023 on a three-count charge of assault and theft, under case number MIF/192C/2023. At that time, he was granted bail set at N300,000, with two sureties from his immediate family.
However, after failing to appear in court for a period, he was rearrested and remanded in a correctional facility. He was brought back before the court on Tuesday, when the final judgment was delivered.
