Nigerian music star, Rema, has been accused of arresting one Ms. Amaka Obasi over a contract dispute and unpaid fees.
Amaka, who is an interior decorator and Rema entered into a Design Services Agreement.
The contract dated April 4, 2025 was reportedly signed by both parties and, however, the accuser claims that the singer included items that were not part of the original agreement.
In another document, Amaka wrote to Rema through her lawyer, stating that Rema had instructed her to build a studio — a critical tool for his work as an artist.
Acting in good faith, Amaka built the studio, only for Rema to decline, neglect, or willfully refuse to make payment for it, despite repeated demands.
Rema’s over-indebtedness on the property prevented estate management from granting Amaka access to the site for over a week, making it impossible for any contractor to carry out work while locked out.
Furthermore, Rema failed in his basic duty to provide electricity and water. Far from abandoning the project, Amaka, at Rema’s request, expended additional time and resources to build a water tank, absorbing further delays.
However, she has yet to be paid for the construction of the tank she requested, which left Rema feeling insulted and ordering action on her behalf.
The source, who was present during the transaction, said the police officers initially demanded ₦7 million but later accepted ₦1.1 million as bail.
They then instructed Amaka to remain incommunicado so that Rema would believe she was still in custody.
Despite this, the police secretly secured a remand warrant against her while her lawyer was away for a brief meeting with Amaka’s family.
“At first, the police demanded ₦7 million from the client but eventually collected ₦1.1 million to release her. They then instructed her to switch off her devices and stay undercover — and keep a very low profile so that Rema would not know she had been released. The aim was to give Rema the impression that she was still being held in their custody.
“She was then asked to report the next day. She had been arrested on a Saturday, so instead of returning the following day (Sunday), she reported on Monday. That evening, around 8:30–9:00 p.m., she went home, only to be instructed to return again on Monday.
“When she came back on Monday, no one from Rema was present at the station. Instead, they took her to her bank, forced her to hand over her bank documents, and ordered her to report again the next day. By this point, she was visibly ill — she is asthmatic and had hynia — so I intervened. We wrote to them, explaining that her health condition would not allow her to keep returning. We suggested rescheduling for either Friday of that week or Monday, September 5. Since Friday was a public holiday, they settled for Monday.
“By that Monday, she was still unwell. We wrote again and our lawyer sent his colleague, a lawyer, to deliver the letter to the AIG’s office. Each of our letters was acknowledged. We appealed for a further extension, and they agreed to the following Monday. Meanwhile, because the case was clearly a civil matter, we had already filed a fundamental rights enforcement suit at the Federal High Court. We attempted to serve them, but the agency rejected the process, claiming we were only giving them an advance copy and that the court must serve them formally.
“On Sunday, our lawyer called a senior officer on the team to assure him that we would personally come with Amaka on Monday as promised. He agreed. However, when we arrived on Monday, they detained her, alleging that she had jumped bail and failed to honour their invitations,” Sahara Reporters quoted a source as saying.
