
Chris Brown's pal remanded in custody after court hearing over nightclub attack
The Metropolitan Police announced today that US national Akinlolu, 38, had been charged with grievous bodily harm with intent. Police said the charge relates to an assault, which reportedly took place at a venue in Hanover Square in London, on Sunday, 19 February 2023.
Akinlolu appeared in the dock flanked by security guards at Manchester Magistrates' Court wearing a pink tracksuit. He spoke to confirm him name and address, which was given to the court as The Lowry Hotel in Salford, which is the address Chris Brown also gave during his hearing yesterday, MEN reports.
During today's hearing, prosecutor Peter Conroy told the court the prosecution will allege Akinlolu 'repeatedly punched' victim Abe Diaw 'in the head'. He added that it is alleged an incident at the London nightclub started at a bar area and continued across the bar into a different room within the establishment.
The prosecutor also told the court how police attempted to contact both Akinlolu and Brown on 'several occasions' in an attempt to invite them to voluntary interviews. He added that the interviews did not take place because Akinlolu and Brown did not respond. The court also heard how Akinlolu was arrested in Manchester on Friday night.
Grace Forbes, who is representing Akinlolu, told the court: "He will be entering a not guilty plea." But a plea was not entered during the hearing today.
The defence added to the court that if Akinlolu had been trying to avoid police in the UK, he wouldn't have come to the UK. Ms Forbes said: "That would be an extraordinary thing to do if he had any intention to avoid the police in this country." An application for bail was made for Akinlolu as Ms Forbes proposed a surety involving his mother's 'life-savings'. She added that Akinlolu would surrender his passport, reside in Manchester and not apply for any travel documents and proposed that he wouldn't enter any port or airport, and abide by a curfew.
However, bail was refused and Akinlolu was remanded in custody. Chairman of the bench, Ronald Marshall, says: "On this occasion we are refusing bail and you will be kept in custody." The case is adjourned.
Akinlolu will appear at Southwark Crown Court in London on June 20.
Brown and fellow musician Akinlolu released music together in the past, as Hoody Baby featured on Brown's track No Such Thing, released in 2020. Meanwhile, Brown features on Hoody Baby's song Flexing, which also has features from Lil Wayne, Quavo and Gudda Gudda.
Yesterday, 36 year old musician Chris Brown appeared at Manchester Magistrates Court after being charged with grievous bodily harm with intent by the Metropolitan Police. He was arrested at 2am on Thursday at The Lowry Hotel in the city after police discovered he was in the country ahead of upcoming tour dates in Europe and the UK.
Brown has been remanded in custody until June 13 by a judge in Manchester over an allegation of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
Following Brown's arrest, a spokesman for The Metropolitan Police said: "A 36-year-old man was arrested at a hotel in Manchester shortly after 02:00hrs on Thursday, 15 May on suspicion of grievous bodily harm. He has been taken into custody where he remains.
"The arrest relates to an incident at a venue in Hanover Square on 19 February 2023. The investigation is being led by detectives from the Central West Area Basic Command Unit."
On Thursday evening, Adele Kelly, the Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS London North, said: "We have authorised the Metropolitan Police to charge Chris Brown, 36, with one count of grievous bodily harm, contrary to section 18 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.
"The alleged incident occurred in London on February 19 2023. He will have his first court appearance on Friday May 16 at Manchester Magistrates' Court.
"The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against this defendant are active and that he has the right to a fair trial.
"It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings."
Following the news Brown had been remanded in custody until June 13, dates for his upcoming tour have been thrown into chaos. His Breezy Bowl XX Tour is due to start in Amsterdam on June 8 - but Brown will be in custody ahead of his appearance at Southwark crown court in London on June 13.

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Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Woman who claimed to be Princess Diana's secret daughter who was sent to rid the world of evil killed her friend and his cat, court hears
A woman who claimed to be Princess Diana 's secret daughter killed her friend and his cat, a court heard. Habiba Naveed, 35, also said she was 'Jesus' and had been 'sent to eliminate evil from the world' after battering her 72-year-old landlord to death and stabbing his pet cat in the neck. Naveed previously denied the murder of solicitor Christopher Brown, but pleaded guilty to his manslaughter. She also admitted causing unnecessary suffering to his cat Snow by stabbing him in the neck on or before August 15 last year. At a hearing at the Old Bailey on Thursday, Judge Sarah Munro KC imposed a hospital order under Section 37 of the Mental Health Act and a restriction order under Section 41 - meaning Naveed can be detained indefinitely. At the time of the offence, Naveed, who has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, was 'psychotic' - while her mental health had 'deteriorated' in the days preceding the attack, the court heard. Prosecutor Kerry Broome told the court Naveed believed she had connections to the royal family and was Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Fayed's daughter. After the attack, Naveed told her brother 'she was Jesus and had been sent to eliminate evil from the world', and later said to police 'the devil attacked me last night and I won,' Ms Broome said. The Metropolitan Police launched an investigation after Mr Brown's body was discovered under a dressing gown in the living room of the home he shared with Naveed in Polsted Road, Lewisham, south-east London. The house cat, Snow, was also found dead having been stabbed in the neck. Ms Broome said of a previous account of the attack given by the defendant: 'She believed she had seen the deceased kill his mother and that the deceased was evil.' 'She heard a voice telling her to kill him three times,' she said, adding that Naveed hit Mr Brown with a pan and then strangled him. 'She believed the evil spirit had jumped out of the deceased and into the cat.' 'She got a knife and she cut the cat's neck,' Mr Broome added. A post-mortem examination found that Mr Brown, who was a lawyer, died from blunt force trauma. In a tearful statement, a colleague from Mr Brown's law firm told the hearing that the victim would have helped anyone if he could, adding that Naveed had taken away any 'future memories'. She said: 'He wasn't just a 72-year-old-man tragically killed by his housemate, he was a solicitor, a boss, a partner, a kind man.' In a statement read out by Ms Broome, Mr Brown's cousin described him as a 'kind and caring person' who would go out of his way to help his family and his clients. Naveed attended the hearing via video-link and only spoke to confirm her identity.


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Contact Tom Schad at tschad@ or on social media @


Daily Mirror
8 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Princess Diana's 'secret daughter' killed friend and cat after thinking she was Jesus
Habiba Naveed, 35, previously denied the murder of her landlord Christopher Brown, but pleaded guilty to his manslaughter. She also admitted causing unnecessary suffering to his cat A woman who claimed to be Princess Diana's 'secret daughter' brutally killed her friend and his cat, a court has heard. Habiba Naveed, 35, who said she was "Jesus" and had been "sent to eliminate evil from the world" initially denied the murder of her landlord Christopher Brown, but later pleaded guilty to his manslaughter. She also confessed to causing unnecessary suffering to his cat Snow by stabbing him in the neck on or before 15 August last year. During a hearing at the Old Bailey on Thursday, Judge Sarah Munro KC issued a hospital order under Section 37 of the Mental Health Act and a restriction order under Section 41 – meaning Naveed can be detained indefinitely. At the time of the offence, Naveed, who has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, was experiencing a "psychotic" episode – while her mental health had "deteriorated" in the days leading up to the attack, the court heard. Prosecutor Kerry Broome informed the court that Naveed believed she had connections to the Royal family and was the daughter of Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Fayed. After the attack, Naveed told her brother "she was Jesus and had been sent to eliminate evil from the world", and later said to police "the devil attacked me last night and I won," Ms Broome stated. The court heard Naveed had also told police she "slept in coffins", and that Jesus had resurrected her from the dead. The Metropolitan Police launched an investigation after Mr Brown's body was discovered beneath a dressing gown in the lounge of the property he shared with Naveed in Polsted Road, Lewisham, south-east London. The household cat, Snow, was also found dead having been stabbed in the neck. Ms Broome said of a previous account of the attack given by the defendant: "She believed she had seen the deceased kill his mother and that the deceased was evil. She heard a voice telling her to kill him three times," she said, adding that Naveed struck Mr Brown with a pan and then strangled him. "She believed the evil spirit had jumped out of the deceased and into the cat. She got a knife and she cut the cat's neck," Mr Broome added. The pair had lived together at Polsted Road for several years, during which Mr Brown was convinced to put the property, which he had inherited from his parents, in both his and Naveed's names, the prosecutor said. The house was renovated and tenants were taken in, which Naveed orchestrated, the court heard. In the days leading up to the attack, Naveed's family were concerned at the state of her mental health – leading them to call 111 and call an ambulance, the hearing was told. Sentencing, Judge Munro told the defendant: "You attacked Chris between around 11pm and 11.50pm on August 14. You hit Chris a number of times to the head with a saucepan which broke in the process; you then sat on him breaking his ribs and strangled him. "You then slit the cat's throat before leaving Chris covered in a dressing gown alone and dead or dying in the living room property where he was found by Mr Rizwan (a lodger) when he returned to the house at 2.15am on 15th. You left a bloodied knife with which you had cut the cat's throat nearby." She continued: "The consultant forensic psychiatrist was of the view that the injuries fitted your account which shows that you were conscious of exactly what you were doing as you killed Chris." The judge revealed two psychiatrists had reached the same conclusion regarding paranoid schizophrenia and that Naveed possessed "no insight" into her mental health, diagnosis or symptoms. Naveed had repeatedly turned violent during earlier hospital stays and had stopped taking her prescribed medication for a year before the fatal attack, the court was told. The accused was a regular cannabis user which worsened her condition but did not trigger her psychosis, psychiatrists concluded, the judge stated. Factors reducing her sentence beyond Naveed's mental illness included her clean criminal record, whilst aggravating elements included her use of strangulation and a weapon, the judge noted. A post-mortem examination revealed that Mr Brown, who worked as a solicitor, died from blunt force trauma. In an emotional statement, a colleague from Mr Brown's legal practice told the hearing that the victim would have assisted anyone in need, saying that Naveed had stolen any "future memories". She stated: "He wasn't just a 72-year-old-man tragically killed by his housemate, he was a solicitor, a boss, a partner, a kind man." In a statement read out by Ms Broome, Mr Brown's cousin described him as a "kind and caring person" who would go out of his way to help his family and his clients. Naveed attended the hearing via video-link and only spoke to confirm her identity.