Prominent Nigerian actress Funke Akindele has been arrested in the country’s commercial capital, Lagos, for violating the government’s measures intended to slow the spread of Coronavirus.
The police in Lagos confirmed that the 42-year-old had held a birthday party at her house over the weekend.
Akindele was one of the stars used in a video by Dettol and the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), to help educate the public on preventative measures against coronavirus, including social distancing.
But over the weekend the actress was heavily criticised after a video of a house party she had thrown with her husband, producer JJC Skillz, went viral.
It is not clear how many people attended the event, but the police said they arrested her and had intensified “efforts to arrest the remaining persons in the video”.
They have urged her husband, as well as singer Naira Marley, to report to the police today or “risk being declared wanted”.
Akindele has since posted an apology on her Instagram account and said she did “not intentionally mislead people”.
She said that some cast and crew were caught up in the lockdown and stayed on her estate.
She added that she supports the government in creating more awareness to eradicate the coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement online, Dettol said although Akindele was not an ambassador for the NCDC, it was concerned about the event and did not condone any breach of guidelines on Covid-19.