Grammy nominee Seun Kuti has come under widespread criticism for allegedly brandishing a firearm at some party attendees who blocked the entrance of his Lagos home with their vehicles late Saturday.

Mr. Kuti, 37, was accused by witnesses of assaulting some car owners, before pulling out a gun to disperse organisers of the party.  He reportedly fired at least two live rounds as other attendees tried to pacify him. No one was hurt.

A witness Temitayo Ayetoto narrated the incident on her Twitter handle late Saturday.

She said that the row started at about 7:00 p.m. when the enraged musician accosted some attendees of Facebook hangout held at 16, Akin Osiyemi Street, off Allen Avenue, Ikeja, because their parked vehicles had prevented a resident from accessing his (Seun’s) compound.

“Kuti’s fury leaped and began to ridicule the guy who blocked the access. Whether the guy knew or not that it was Kuti, he screamed back, asking him to take things easy before he leaves,” she wrote.

“Next thing: Some three guys left Kuti’s side and rushed the guy with slaps and blows, while Kuti also landed him a heavy strike on his head amid screaming. This guy retreated, almost crying. He moved his car. But it wasn’t enough,” she said.

@Temietayur added that Mr. Kuti continued to rage at other car owners until one of the party’s organisers simply identified as ‘MM’ and a bouncer made attempts to douse the tension.

“One of the bouncers told Kuti to calm down. Next thing again, Kuti’s thugs rushed at the bouncer for such effrontery. That’s where the party scattered,” she narrated.

“This time around Kuti went into his compound and brought out a SHORT BLACK GUN! He was attempting to cork it but paused again. I called my friend that we needed to leave immediately,”

“I knew trouble was looming on a large scale when the guy who was earlier assaulted returned to the scene.  Barely 30 minutes after we left, I got feedback from people at the party that there had been a gunshot, forcing everyone to scamper,” she stated.

@Temietayur’s narration was corroborated by another witness, who disclosed that a video could not be taken to document the incident due to safety concerns. 

Mr. Kuti, son of afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti who now leads his father’s former band Egypt 80, had in his defense on Sunday morning tweeted what appeared to be a message of gratitude from one of his neighbors who appreciated his intervention on the indiscriminate parking by the party attendees.

Mr. Kuti, however, failed to clarify whether or not he opened fire during the Saturday night altercation, which rubbed many Nigerians the wrong way.

When reached by Peoples Gazette, Mr. Kuti declined to confirm or deny opening live rounds, saying “everyone wants to lie because it’s Seun Kuti.”
The Afrobeat star has long been respected for his rights activism.

He has been at the forefront of many protests for a better Nigeria, and frequently uses his social media handles to rail against oppression of everyday Nigerians by federal and state authorities. 

A spokesman for the police in Lagos did not immediately return a request seeking comments about whether or not they had commenced investigation into the shooting.