A magistrate’s court sitting in the Ogba area of Lagos State has ordered the remand of controversial social media personality Ademola Abiodun, widely known by his online alias DJ Chicken, following allegations that he issued a death threat against Seyi Tinubu, son of President Bola Tinubu.
The defendant was arraigned on Friday, July 10, before Magistrate M.F. Onamusi on a three-count charge that included an alleged threat to kill, conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace, and an offence under Nigeria’s Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015.
According to prosecutors, the case traces back to a video DJ Chicken posted on his social media handles while weighing in on the 2027 presidential race. Speaking in Yoruba in the clip, he was quoted as saying, “Tinubu, you can’t win the election. If you win, I will kill Seyi Tinubu. I won’t say more than that.”
The remark spread rapidly online, and prosecutors argued the statement went beyond loose talk, amounting to a criminal threat under both the Criminal Law of Lagos State and the Cybercrime Act.
The specific counts accused him of posting a video threatening to kill Seyi under Section 232 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015, of making a grossly offensive and menacing message under Section 24 of the Cybercrime Act, and of conduct intended to intimidate or embarrass Seyi Tinubu under Section 168(d) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State.
Facing swift backlash once the clip went viral, DJ Chicken posted a follow-up video walking back the comments, insisting the whole thing was a stunt meant to drum up engagement rather than a genuine threat.
Prosecutors, nonetheless, pressed ahead with charges, and the Lagos State Government initiated criminal proceedings despite the defendant’s later retraction.
When the charges were read to him in court, DJ Chicken pleaded not guilty on all three counts. Magistrate Onamusi granted him bail of ₦1 million with two sureties in a like sum but attached conditions that his lawyer, Rotimi Stephen, later described as unusually difficult to meet given who the complainant was.
The bail terms require that one surety be a government employee and the other a recognized community leader who owns landed property in Lagos State.
Both sureties must additionally produce three years of tax clearance records, LASRRA identification, their National Identification Number, and recent utility bills, and one of the two sureties must be a blood relation of the defendant.
Pending satisfaction of those conditions, the magistrate ordered that DJ Chicken be held at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre. His lawyer said he expected his client to regain his freedom once the paperwork was sorted, possibly as soon as the following Monday.
The matter has been adjourned to August 3, 2026, for further proceedings.
The episode has stirred debate in Nigeria over where the line sits between reckless online provocation and genuine criminal intent, particularly as political tensions build ahead of the 2027 election.
Whatever the eventual outcome, the case is likely to be watched closely as a marker of how Nigerian authorities intend to police threats, real or performative, made against public figures on social media.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
The DJ Chicken case is a reminder that online threats, even ones made in jest or for clout, can carry real legal consequences. Despite retracting his statement and calling it a joke, DJ Chicken was still arrested, charged, and remanded at Kirikiri, facing stiff bail conditions.
In an era of heightened political sensitivity, what’s said online about public figures, particularly in the heat of political commentary, can quickly cross from viral content into criminal liability.
