Nigerian Musician Fela Charged With Drug Offenses

LAGOS, Nigeria (Reuter) Nigeria's antinarcotics agency charged Fela
AnikulapoKuti in court Wednesday with several drug offences, and the
maverick musician could face at least 15 years in jail if convicted.

He has been arraigned today before the tribunal, and his offense is standing
on many legs, i.e., possession, conspiracy, use, which are separate
offenses,'' an agency spokesman said.

Fela, as the 58 yearold Afrobeat musician is widely known, was arrested last
week with 107 others at his nightclub, The Shrine, in a workingclass
district of Lagos for alleged possession of marijuana.

He filed suit in a Lagos court seeking $11,765 in damages from the National
Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for alleged violation of his human
rights, and on Tuesday a judge ordered he should be released by the agency.

But the NDLEA spokesman said Fela was no longer in the custody of the agency.
``After being charged, the issue is now with the tribunal,'' he said.

There is no bail for drug offenses in Nigeria.

The Afrobeat superstar is no stranger to controversy or to the jail cell.
He has a reputation for openly smoking marijuana and dressing only in his
underpants.

AnikulapoKuti was last held by the antidrug agency in February 1996.

In the mid1980s he was locked up for 18 months for allegedly smuggling
foreign exchange, but his fiveyear term was cut short when it was disclosed
that the judge who convicted him had been under pressure from the
thenmilitary government.

Reuters/Variety