Two Nigerian Brothers, Who Are Acquaintances Of Jussie Smollett, Arrested At Chicago O’Hare Airport In Connection to Smollett’s Attack

Two Nigerian brothers have been detained and are being questioned over the Jussie Smollett attack. Actors Abimbolya ‘Abel’ and Olabinjo ‘Ola’ Osundairo were picked up by police at Chicago O’Hare Airport after arriving back from Nigeria. Police are treating the brothers as suspects and not persons of interest although neither has been charged. Police are only permitted to hold them for an additional 24 hours without charge if the prosecutor’s office agrees, or must file charges by 5:45 pm on Friday.

Both brothers are actors and Ola appeared on an episode of Empire in 2015 as an extra. They are also friends with Smollett, who follows them on Instagram and works out with them on occasion. The Osundairo family said they went to Africa on January 29, hours after the Smollett attack. 

Smollett has now been accused by anonymous police sources of staging the attack, claiming Smollett orchestrated the hoax because he was being written out of #Empire and wanted to concoct a publicity stunt to save his role. The claim has been strenuously denied by the show and uncorroborated by the police. 

Chicago PD Chief Communications Officer, Anthony Guglielmi, said, “There is also no evidence to say that this is a hoax. The alleged victim is being cooperative at this time and continues to be treated as the victim, not a suspect…The investigation continues.”

The brothers’ names are included on a list of evidence that was left at their home after Chicago PD officers raided it. The brothers are listed in public records as tenants of the house. However, their lawyer insists they are not involved nor the individuals who attacked Jussie. Guglielmi said, “Detectives have probable cause that they may have been involved in an alleged crime and we are working to corroborate the allegations and investigative timeline as our investigation continues.”

According to TMZ, detectives found the men by looking through ride-sharing history records from the night of the attack. During the search of their home, police seized a black face mask hat, an Empire script, a phone, receipts, five bottles of bleach, a red hat, two laptops, and various other items. A relative that was home at the time of the raid stated she thinks the brothers are being questioned because of their loose Empire connection to Smollett and the fact that they left for Nigeria on the same day of the attack.

What do y’all think about the latest plot twist in the #JussieSmollett attack investigation?