Dust particles swirled in the air as vehicles and motorcycles navigated the untarred road leading to Odogwu Bar and Lounge, a pub owned by Nigerian singer Habeeb Badmus, popularly known as Portable.
Located in Iyana Ilogbo, in the Sango Ota area of Ogun State, the club has become a magnet for fun seekers, music artistes, and street boys who frequent the spot in the evenings to unwind.
Following a confrontation last week between Portable’s allies and government officials conducting a routine inspection of illegal structures, residents spoke about the incident in hushed tones.
On Thursday morning, when our correspondent visited Iyana Ilogbo Street, most residents of the area maintained a guarded silence due to the pop artist’s influence.
A journey through the sandy road in the Oke Osa axis, where Portable’s bar is located, revealed an array of underdeveloped houses, various degrees of erosion, and wooden bridges connecting different sections of the streets.
Nestled close to a gated uncompleted one-story building, Odogwu Bar is fenced with walls painted in a mix of blue, purple, and yellow designs.
When our correspondent visited the bar, there were no customers in sight—only two stern-looking men seated on a bench at the entrance, watching over the property.
As the reporter stopped to observe the club and the structure beside it, the two men fixed him with suspicious stares, their eyes boring into him.
Posing as a passerby who was waiting for a friend in the area, our correspondent observed that the uncompleted building beside the club had been marked and a notice had been placed on it by the state government.
“What are you looking for there?” one of the men harshly asked our correspondent when they saw this reporter walking closely towards the structure.
“We don’t want to see anybody here, please leave this place now. Who are you looking for, what do you want here, please leave?” the second man ordered.
A resident of the area who pleaded anonymity noted that it was the uncompleted building that was sealed by the government, and not the bar as was widely claimed.
“That is Portable’s house, still under construction but look at where it is – it’s situated right on our road, where vehicles and bikes pass through. This house is the real bone of contention and that’s why they are sealed. It wasn’t the bar they sealed.
“When they were marking the structure, Portable became angry that how could they have the guts to mark his house for removal. In his rage, he went and flattened the tyre of the vehicle brought by the officials.
“He then started throwing stones at the government agents, creating pandemonium. Portable caused chaos that day. He even went to the station to report but the officials had their way in the end.”
Another resident, Gboyega Oluwole described the singer as a man who had succeeded in wielding significant influence in the area.
“He gives people food, buys things for residents, and has won many hearts. Naturally, the area boys came to his defence that day. But I can’t say whether all the people arrested by the police were actually involved in the attack. But Portable shouldn’t have taken things gone so far,” he noted.
Explaining the reason for the heightened anxiety from the men guarding the pub, Oluwole said, “People have been avoiding going to Odogwu’s club since the incident because they don’t know what make happen. The police could show up again and round up people.”
Controversy trails singer
From the moment he rose to prominence, Portable has not been a stranger to controversy. Popularly known for his distinctive multi-coloured hairstyle and energetic stage performances, his life of fame has been marred by dramas ranging from baby mama issues to street scuffles.
The 30-year old pop artiste has often used his social media handles, especially Instagram, to curate the events of his personal life with texts, photos and videos, much to the adulation and sometimes dismay of thousands of his fans.
However, on February 4, the “Zazu Zeh” crooner appeared to have overplayed his hands during a visit by officials from the Ogun State Planning and Development Permit Authority in Ibogun and Ota to check for illegal structures in the area.
“Apples Bite Magazine” gathered that on the fateful day, while the officials carried out their inspection, Portable, who was on the opposite side of the road, allegedly taunted them.
Describing himself as the “town planner of Sango,” his friends were alleged to have joined him in harassing the officials until they had to leave the vicinity for their safety.
The next day, the officials reportedly returned to the area to continue their inspection and met Portable’s father, to whom they allegedly explained what they were there to do.
According to Residents, while the officials pasted the notice on the uncompleted building, Portable and some area boys arrived on commercial bikes and attacked the government workers.
“Portable ordered Okada riders to go after the officials and beat them. His boys too, were with him. They beat those men so badly that they had to flee in their vehicles. I was watching the whole scene at a petrol station where I was.
“Some of those officers ran into the petrol station where some of us had to shield them because they were just doing their jobs. It was while they were with us that the police arrived and I had to leave the place,” a commercial motorcyclist in the area, who gave his name simply as Haruna, told our correspondent.
Arrests made
Following the incident, policemen arrived in the area and arrested about nine of the suspects around the Odowgu Bar vicinity, who were allegedly involved in the attack.
It was gathered that some of the street boys involved, including Portable, were still at large having fled the scene.
However, our correspondent gathered that they were advised to turn themselves in.
On Thursday last week, the nine suspects arrested were arraigned before an Abeokuta Magistrates’ Court on charges of felony, assault, obstruction, armed violence with cutlasses and guns, conduct likely to cause a breach of peace, and intent to kill.
Although the case was adjourned till March 17, the suspects were granted bail in the sum of N5 million each, with sureties who are licensed bond agents registered with the Ogun State Government.
Taking to his Instagram, Portable claimed that the police arrested more than 20 people, including his customers, lamenting that all their cars were also seized.
Portable alleged that the state officials were targeting him because of his support for a politician, Senator Solomon Adeola, also known as Yayi.
“It is because of Yayi’s clothes that I wore that you guys are angry and want to set me up. I’m not fighting with anyone and I don’t have a problem. The only problem I have is the problem of making money, the house I built and my bar.
“They just came and sent everyone out while I was sleeping. They picked up a lot of young workers that I am looking after. They said they want to send me out of my house and they cannot do that without a settlement. They sealed my house and bar without paper evidence,” he said in one of his Instagram videos.
Portable challenged the officials to provide evidence of any assault committed by him or his associates, and called for the release of several of his detained employees, who he said were aged between 19 and 27,
“My bar was scattered, workers injured and customers beaten when they raided the bar,” he lamented.
“I need to protect my families and property first,” the singer wrote in another Instagram story, “Eyin fans mi, all I need now is prayer and support. If you spoil me for who love me you go dey die young.”
However, a statement signed last Friday by the Special Adviser to Governor Dapo Abiodun on Information and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, described Portable as “a serial dissident and unrepentant rascal who has been in the habit of assaulting government officials without provocation.”
Akinmade also described Portable’s alleged attack on state officials as “unacceptable and barbaric,” noting that such an act would be addressed in line with the extant laws of the land.
“Governor Dapo Abiodun condemned this primitive and indecent act and reiterated his avowed commitment to a just and egalitarian society as he is ready to make any individual flouting the extant law of the land face the full wrath of the law irrespective of social status or influence,” he added.
Portable runs to church
On Wednesday, video clips emerged on social media of Portable praying at an unidentified white garment church amid his issues with the Ogun State Government and the police.
In the videos, Portable can be seen wearing a white garment and prostrating in supplication inside a small, tiled structure with crosses and beach sand spread on its floor.
The controversial singer, who had previously boasted about practicing Yoruba indigenous spirituality, was mocked by several netizens who wondered why he had suddenly adopted the Christian mode of worship.
In one of his Instagram stories seen by our correspondent, Portable (@portablebaeby) expressed despair and asked God for help.
“Let your grace speak for me,” he wrote. “This life don tire me, but your grace no go tire me. Alhamdulilah. I wake up today again, pls don’t let my enemies shame me.”
Earlier, Portable had, in another post shared online, called out his father for failing to support him after he was declared wanted by the police.
He wrote, “But why my papa no go police station to cover me? He is a bad father. Na him I dey give money to do all those houses, na him chop my money. If to say him don settle with them, I no go get problem with these people.
“Why my papa go dey run for police house wey be say na you I dey give money make you run am? All those houses belong to my Badmus family,” Portable lamented.
The latest incident is not the first time the self-acclaimed “Ika of Africa” has assaulted state officials.
In 2023, Portable was arrested and arraigned by the Ogun State Police Command for allegedly manhandling and assaulting police officers.
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.
