Nigerian controversial singer, Habeeb Okikiola Badmus, popularly known as Portable, has called on the government to ban pranksters following a recent altercation at the Port Harcourt International Airport in Rivers State.
The outburst came after a viral video surfaced on social media, showing the singer in a heated confrontation with an unidentified individual at the airport. In the 53-second-long clip, Portable, dressed in beige attire, is seen being restrained by security guards to avoid a possible fight.
The footage captures pushing and shoving among several people, with one person appearing barefoot and another holding what looks like a belt or whip, while onlookers crowded the scene. The incident reportedly occurred on Sunday, sparking widespread reactions online.
But, responding to the viral clip in a video shared on his Instagram page on Monday, Portable claimed he was the target of a dangerous prank staged by people he described as “death pranksters.”
“Those people came to prank me. They were death pranksters. It almost turned to cultist level,” he said, switching between English and Yoruba languages. “Ten yellows no fit stand one blue,” he added, appearing to boast about his resilience during the scuffle.
The “Zazu Zeh” crooner also accused pranksters and some bloggers of tarnishing his image for online clout.
“Make government stop all those prankers and some fake bloggers. Make them stop all this fake news post just because of small fame,” he wrote. “Why una dey spoil person wey get glory name with una platforms?”
In another video, Portable said he has confirmed that the pranksters were ‘death pranksters’. “I have gone to check the guy’s page on TikTok, he has about five or ten of those videos. They will come to your house and fake death, people will have cried for like four days before he they will wake up,” he said.
“Now, this boy has been tarnishing my name, people have even started putting a price tag on me. It is beginning to look like a case of cultism,” Portable added.
He also added that they were six in number in the team.
Portable, who has been at the center of multiple public controversies in recent years, including a period when he was declared wanted by the Police, insisted that his outburst was a reaction to provocation and not an unprovoked incident.
He concluded by reaffirming his trust in divine protection, saying those behind the prank would not succeed in destroying his name or career.
