Quick Read
An oil painting of legendary Afrobeat pioneer and Pan-African advocate Fela Anikulapo Ransome-Kuti, valued at N500,000 in 2024, has gone missing from the studio of its creator, Nigerian visual artist Mitchelle James Innocent.
An oil painting of legendary Afrobeat pioneer and Pan-African advocate Fela Anikulapo Ransome-Kuti, valued at N500,000 in 2024, has gone missing from the studio of its creator, Nigerian visual artist Mitchelle James Innocent.
Titled ‘Passion For All: Fela’s Call’, the 36 x 36 inches painting was declared missing from Innocent’s studio in Satellite Town, Lagos, on October 25, with an official report lodged at the nearest police station.
Created in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and the #EndSARS protests, the artwork reimagines Fela as a commanding equestrian figure, armed with his saxophone instead of a sword, and his lyrics as a weapon of truth. The background features Nigerian yellow trumpet flowers, while the horse is accented in green-white-green and Pan-African colours. Inscribed on a rock beneath the horse are the words “Kwarantine” and “Palliathieves,” satirical reflections on the period.
Innocent said the painting holds deep personal significance, noting, “This was not just a painting. I created this work at a time when there was a global crisis, when I was struggling to feed, yet still committed to using my art as a voice. Losing it feels like losing a chapter of my own creative identity.”
Passion For All: Fela’s Call had previously been exhibited at the New Afrika Shrine during Felabration 2024 and at the Art Hotel Lagos. Following Innocent’s relocation to the UK in 2025, the artwork was accessed for exhibition and shipment purposes. However, during the documentation and shipping of his remaining works in August 2025, the painting could not be accounted for.