Azeez Fashola, Nigerian street
singer better known as Naira Marley, has reportedly begun settlement talks on
the car theft allegations against him.
A Lagos state court ordered for the arrest and arraignment of the
controversial 25-year-old singer over car theft allegations.
Fashola had, however, dismissed
the claims made against him, flaunted a fleet of his luxurious cars, and
reportedly failed to present himself before the court.
On Tuesday, the singer was
arraigned on four counts of conspiracy, stealing, assault and obstructing the
police before the Lagos state magistrates’ court.
While Ayodeji Awokulehin, the
magistrate, threatened to issue a warrant for his arrest, the court later
adjourned the case till January 14 on the plea of the singer’s lawyer.
Speaking to journalists outside
the courtroom, Awokulehin said Marley has initiated settlement talks with
Adelekan Ademola, the complainant.
“The police have no problem with
an out-of-court settlement; we hope that an agreement will be reached before
the next adjourned date,” he said.
The settlement comes after
Ademola alleged that Marley stole his Toyota Camry with registration number FEE
120 AA, valued at N1.8 million, and an iPhone X5 worth N330,000.
Naira Marley has been in a legal
battle with the EFCC ever since he was first arrested for his controversial
2019 track and social media comments alleged to have upheld cybercrime.
In addition to the 11-count
charges of “conspiracy, possession of counterfeit credit cards, and fraud” on
him, the EFCC had said it retrieved more evidence against the singer after a
forensic probe.
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