Portable, who was recently arraigned on an array of charges such as criminal defamation, intimidation, cyberstalking, and incitement of public disturbance against singer Saheed Osupa, has finally been granted bail.
The 1 million naira bail was said to have been granted to the singer by an Upper Area Court in Ilorin, Kwara State.
The singer’s arrest was prompted by a petition filed on March 19, 2025, by Saheed Osupa, who claimed that the controversy-prone artist Portable made a live broadcast on Instagram, where he defamed him with claims that he was envious of his success and attempting to destroy his reputation.
“This man dey try bring down my shine! He be like person wey dey chop snail with shellโhim 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.” (This man is trying to dim my shine! He behaves like someone eating a snail with the shellโhe lacks sense. Osupa is like a tortoise. When Apple Music and Spotify were about to pay me, he took down my song from the platforms so I wouldnโt get the money),” Portable mentioned in the video.
Osupa Saheed stated that the singer’s statement apart from being defamatory and harmful to his reputation, have the potency of inciting public hatred against him.
When interrogated, the police submitted that Portable made clean breasts of the matter while equally confessing to the allegations as filed by the complainant in the State Intelligence Department (SID), Ilorin.
Portable was arraigned under several legal provisions: Section 392 (Criminal Defamation), Section 114 (Inciting Disturbance), Section 397 (Criminal Intimidation) of the Penal Code.
Section 24(1)(b) and 24(2)(c) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015, Sections 10 and 13 of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law, 2020.
The Investigating Police Officer, ASP Adeniyi James, confirmed that Portable was charged based on a directive from the police authorities.
The court had however made the bail grant conditional upon the provision of two sureties that amount to the stipulated amount in this manner: One must be either the Chairman or Secretary of the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PMAN), while the other must possess a landed property within a Government Reserved Area (GRA), backed by a valid Certificate of Occupancy (C of O).
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