Muscle fan Aki claims police picked on him
A MAN who has previously been banned from touching men’s muscles after incidents across Manchester has claimed he is now being picked on by police after being hauled into court for not wearing his seatbelt.
Akinwale Arobieke - also known as Aki - was found not guilty of the traffic offence after a trial. He has long claimed he was the victim of a witchhunt and has never been convicted of a sexual offence.
Mr Arobieke, 57, says officers from Merseyside Police pulled him over ‘for all the wrong reasons,’ the Liverpool Echo reports.
Mr Arobieke, from Toxteth, was leaving McDonald’s on Aigburth Road, Liverpool, on February 23 when he claims he was followed by a van full of officers.
He claimed the officers followed him down Aigburth Road in his silver Toyota, before he was pulled over near Jericho Lane and questioned for allegedly not wearing his seatbelt.
In a trial at South Sefton magistrates court, Mr Arobieke claimed he was singled out by the police officers because of who he is. In 2016, he had a 10-year Sexual Offences Prevention Order banning him from touching men’s muscles scrapped.
However, giving evidence in court, Con Daley Connelly - who cautioned Mr Arobieke in the incident - claimed he didn’t know who the defendant was at the time.
Addressing magistrates as he defended himself in court, Mr Arobieke said: “The officers noticed me and it’s my belief they were talking about me because they had a good look. I was wearing my seatbelt - I was stopped for all the wrong reasons. It’s not right.
“I did have insurance, I wasn’t wanted by Merseyside Police. The car belonged to me, I hadn’t stolen it, I was insured. After all that then the seatbelt thing came up.
“I can’t believe I’m being dragged to court for not wearing a seatbelt because I was wearing one at the time - I always do. I’ve been driving for 30 years and I’ve never been stopped before for not wearing a seatbelt.
“It’s a load of nonsense and I was being picked on. That’s the top and bottom of it. Six officers don’t need to jump out of a van. It’s just not right.
Mr Arobieke was found not guilty of not wearing his seatbelt.
He was jailed for six years in 2003 for 16 counts of harassment across Greater Manchester and Merseyside. He has been known to the police for years because of what he admits was an ‘unusual interest in the potential of young men to improve their physique.’