Funke Akindele-Bello, popular Nollywood actress, and her husband Abdulrasheed Bello have been sentenced to 14-day community service for violating the Covid-19 social distancing law of Lagos State.
The couple is also to pay a fine of N100,000 each in addition to another 14-day isolation.
They were sentenced on Monday after pleading guilty to the offence of violating the law, pressed against them by the Nigeria Police Force.
Both husband and wife were arraigned before chief magistrate Yewande Aje-Afunwa of the Ogba Magistrate Court 1 after they were arrested on Sunday evening by the operatives of the Lagos State police command.
The couple had on Saturday, April 4 threw a birthday party in their home in the Lekki/Ajah axis of Lagos, with numerous guests in attendance, thereby violating the social distancing law. The video of the birthday party had gone viral on social media.
Counsel to the couple, Abayomi Alagbada in his defence had pleaded for leniency on the grounds that the duos are first offenders and respectable members of society with two young children.
The prosecution led by the Lagos State attorney-general, Moyosore Onigbanjo, had earlier asked the court to sentence the defendants accordingly, having pleaded guilty to the charge
Bala Elkana, the spokesperson of the Lagos Police Command, had issued a statement confirming the arrest of Funke on Sunday.
“The attention of state Police Command was drawn to a viral video showing a large number of persons mainly in the entertainment industry on an estate on Ajah, Ibeju-Lekki axis.
“They were celebrating a birthday party organised by Funke Akindele-Bello and her husband.
“Police detectives from the state CID, Yaba, were promptly drafted to the location and Akindele was arrested,’’ said Elkana in a statement.
He explained that efforts were being intensified to arrest the remaining persons in the video, among whom are Azeez popular musician, Azeez Fashola (a.k.a Naira Marley).
Elkana advised those involved to voluntarily report at the CID Yaba “in their best interest or risk being declared wanted.”
