More than two days after the Federal High Court granted bail to embattled singer Speed Darlington, his lawyers, Deji Adeyanju and Stan Alieke, have accused the police of defying the court order by refusing to release him.

Speed Darlington, who was arrested on November 27 on allegations of cyberstalking Grammy Award winner Burna Boy, has spent a month in police detention.

Although the Federal High Court granted him bail on Monday, his continued detention has drawn criticism from his legal team and supporters.

In an Instagram post on Thursday, Mr. Alieke expressed his frustration with the lack of support for Speed Darlington’s case, despite his efforts to secure the rapper’s release.

The lawyer’said: “We’ve gone to court and done everything a lawyer should do to get his client out. I have even exhausted my connections. I’ve reached out to my political friends here in Abuja. I’ve reached out to everyone. I wonder why people are trying not to get involved in this case and are saying, ‘Look, Akpi (Speed Darlington) insulted us before; Akpi did this before.’ It’s nonsense. Everyone is trying to say he got what was coming to him, and so what?

“Just imagine your brother being in detention for more than a month now over the fact that he allegedly insulted someone, and people are celebrating, jubilating, and saying, ‘Okay, Akpi talks anyhow.’ Someone even told me not to get involved because Akpi had insulted me. But I’ve known Akpi for over five years, and I’ve been his lawyer. I know him better than the people talking online.”

Mr. Alieke also highlighted the police’s disregard for the court’s ruling, which had instructed them to either release or arraign Speed Darlington within 48 hours.

He stated: “I have no idea why the police are refusing to obey the court order and release that guy (Speed Darlington). The court ruled on Monday that the police should release or arraign him within the next 48 hours. Okay, we didn’t count yesterday because they said it was a Christmas holiday and, to that extent, a public holiday. So, it shouldn’t be counted. Today, we counted Tuesday, but we didn’t count Wednesday. Today (Thursday) makes it 48 working hours. Yet, the police refuse to grant him bail or obey the court order—either to grant him bail or arraign him before the court. Now he has spent Christmas there.”

Similarly, Mr. Adeyanju voiced his outrage in a post on X, formerly Twitter: “The Nigerian Police have refused to release Speed Darlington, a.k.a. Akpi, despite the explicit order of the Federal High Court to do so. This is the highest form of disrespect to the judiciary.” (Vanguard)