Popular Nigerian actress, Funke Akindele, aka Jenifa, has been arrested for hosting a party on Saturday amid the lockdown order imposed to tackle the spread of Coronavirus.
Lagos Police spokesperson, DSP Bala Elkana, who confirmed the development in a statement on Sunday evening, said: “Funke Akindele was arrested. Investigation is ongoing, efforts are intensified to arrest the remaining persons in the video, among whom are Azeez Fashola a.k.a Naira Marley and Abdul Rasheed Bello a.k.a. JJC Skillz.
“They are in their best interests urged to report at the State CID Yaba on Monday 6th April, 2020 or risk being declared wanted.”
The actress, who had since apologized through her twitter handle, was the topic of criticism on social media on Sunday after pictures and videos of the birthday party surfaced online.
The party was held at her Lekki home in Lagos to celebrate the birthday of her husband, JJC Skillz.
Fellow actress, Eniola Badmus and singer, Naira Marley also graced the party which had over 20 others in attendance – a contravention of the lockdown order of Lagos State.
Akindele, who had earlier justified the party in a now deleted tweet, said most of the attendees were colleagues who were working on a new project and had been stuck in the estate not able to return to their homes due to the lockdown order.
Before now, she had appeared in a health advisory video for the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), raising awareness about coronavirus.
Akindele risks a jail term of one month or N100,000 fine or both or a three-months community service if found guilty.
Nigeria has confirmed 232 cases of coronavirus so far, with five deaths and 33 people discharged.
