Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The continued detention of Nigerian musician and social media critic Afunsho Ridwan Abiola, popularly known as Rolex Dee, has been prolonged by an alleged delay in the verification of a property document submitted to perfect his bail conditions. Court registry officials confirmed that a formal request for verification was sent to the Oyo State Land Registry on September 17, 2026, a day after the sureties were presented, but more than a week later, the registry had not responded to the court's request.
Damilare Adenola, legal representative for the detained musician, presented the required sureties before the Federal High Court in Ibadan on September 16, 2026, to perfect the bail conditions granted to his client. As part of the requirements, one of the sureties surrendered an official land title document to the court as evidence of the property being used to secure the bail. However, the completion of the bail process has reportedly been stalled because the Oyo State Land Registry has yet to verify the document.
An investigation by SaharaReporters found that the delay is allegedly linked to the official assigned to process the verification request. Sources familiar with the matter alleged that the official has failed to attend to the file, while reportedly accompanying political figures to campaign activities across Oyo State. The development has effectively left Rolex Dee in custody despite his legal representative having presented the sureties and property documentation required by the court.
The bail conditions granted to Rolex Dee required two sureties, each standing for N50 million. One of the sureties must be a family member, while the first surety must be a property owner within the jurisdiction of the court. The condition that one surety must be a family member has been described by supporters as particularly challenging, given the circumstances surrounding the musician's detention.
The latest development comes months after SaharaReporters reported that the musician and social media influencer had been detained following allegations of defamation involving Fuji musician Taiwo Akande Adebisi, popularly known as Taye Currency. In April, Kayode Babayomi, Chairman of the African Action Congress in Oyo State, accused Taye Currency of using his influence to involve the police in the dispute with Rolex Dee. Babayomi alleged that Rolex Dee was arrested in Lagos on April 24 and subsequently taken to Ibadan, where he was detained at the Oyo State Anti-Cultism Squad facility in Iyaganku.
The AAC chairman described the dispute as a civil matter arising from allegations of defamation and questioned the use of police powers in the matter. "We maintain that this is a civil matter that should not involve the police. Taye Currency ought to have approached the court through a civil process rather than using law enforcement as a tool for intimidation and oppression," Babayomi said. He also questioned the continued detention of Rolex Dee, alleging at the time that the police had not filed the case before a High Court or provided a hearing date for bail. "As of now, the police have yet to file the case in a High Court or provide a hearing date for bail".
The human cost of the prolonged detention has been devastating for the musician's family. In August 2026, Rolex Dee's father collapsed and died after hearing reports that his son was vomiting blood in police custody. The musician was unable to attend his father's burial, a fact that was confirmed by human rights activist Omoyele Sowore, who visited the family during the ordeal.
The latest delay concerns the perfection of bail already granted by the Federal High Court in Ibadan. With the property document still awaiting verification by the Oyo State Land Registry, the detained musician remains in custody. The situation raises troubling questions about the efficiency of the bail process and the potential consequences when administrative bottlenecks intersect with individual liberty. For a man who has already lost his father and spent months in detention over a dispute that many argue should have been resolved in a civil court, the wait for a document verification has become another chapter in an ordeal that shows no sign of ending.
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