Concern is mounting over the whereabouts of popular TikTok streamer Habeeb “Peller” Hamzat, after fellow content creator Tunde Perry took to social media to allege that the young star has been held by police since Friday, with no official word yet from the Nigeria Police Force.
According to Tunde Perry, trouble began for Peller as he was driving home from a shoot in the Lekki area of Lagos. Just minutes earlier, he had reportedly been confronted by a group of “area boys,” a Nigerian term for local touts who demanded ₦250,000 from him at the location.
Shortly after that encounter, officers stopped him over his vehicle: a newly acquired car that, by several accounts, still lacked a registered number plate and had tinted windows.
What began as a routine traffic stop is said to have escalated. Tunde Perry claimed the arrest followed a heated roadside clash with officers over the unregistered vehicle.
Peller himself, in an earlier live session, said the car had only just been purchased and that its registration was still being processed, while alleging that officers manhandled him and pointed a firearm in his direction.
Speaking on a TikTok livestream, Tunde Perry said the matter, which originated at a police division in Lekki, has since been transferred to Ikeja, a detail that has only deepened anxiety among Peller’s fans, many of whom first noticed something was wrong when his usually active social media accounts went quiet. A review of his pages confirms his last post dates back to Friday, the same day the alleged arrest took place.
As of this report, the police have not issued a public statement confirming Peller’s detention, the charges against him, if any, or the current status of the investigation. That silence has left much of the narrative to be shaped by Tunde Perry’s live updates and by speculation swirling among fans and fellow influencers online.
In a more recent livestream, Perry gave what he described as a fresh update, saying Peller remains in custody and that his management team, led by an associate identified as Tekunbi, has been working behind the scenes to secure his release. Perry went further, appealing directly to Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu to show leniency and have the young creator released.
News of the standoff has split opinion online. Some commentators have argued that public figures should not expect special treatment for driving without proper documentation, with several pointing out that ordinary citizens face similar consequences for tinted glass or missing plates.
Others have criticized the conduct of the officers involved, arguing that the situation could have been defused without resorting to force.
This is not the first time Peller’s driving has landed him in police custody. In December 2025, the Lagos State Police Command confirmed his arrest after a widely circulated livestream showed him driving recklessly along the Lekki-Epe Expressway following an emotional on-air moment tied to a breakup, an incident authorities at the time described as an act endangering both his life and that of other road users.
He was later released and publicly apologized, with the case reportedly referred for further investigation.
Whether the latest episode will follow a similar path, a period in custody followed by release and a public statement, remains to be seen. For now, Peller’s fans continue to wait for the one thing that has defined his online presence: a new post.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Tunde Perry says Peller has been in police custody since Friday over a tinted, unregistered car, but the police have not confirmed any of it. Everything else (the ₦250,000 area boys demand, the transfer to Ikeja, the appeal to IGP Tunji Disu) is secondhand from Perry’s livestreams. Until the Nigeria Police Force issues an official statement, the story remains one-sided.
