After several months in detention at the Kirikiri correctional facility, 17-year-old Alabi Quadri, who went viral for standing in front of the convoy of Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, has regained his freedom.
Quadri was on Wednesday discharged by Magistrate Adetola Olorunfemi of the Magistrate’s Court in Apapa following legal advice issued by the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Dr Babajide Martins, which cleared him of armed robbery allegations. The court found no credible evidence to sustain the charge.
The teenager was arrested in January after being allegedly abducted by two self-proclaimed area boys, identified as Lege and Baba Waris, near his family residence in the Amukoko area of Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local Council, Lagos State. They allegedly handed him over to the police at the Amukoko Divisional Police Headquarters, also known as Pako Police Station.
Quadri was said to be returning from work when he was forcefully seized by the duo. According to his family and legal representatives, the arrest stemmed from long-standing resentment among local area boys who were displeased that Quadri had not “shared” financial donations he received after gaining viral attention during the 2023 elections.
Despite being a minor, the police reportedly misrepresented his age as 18 and charged him alongside four adult suspects with no known connection to him. He was remanded at the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Kirikiri on a charge of armed robbery.
Spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, had justified the arrest by stating that residents and victims identified Quadri as one of the boys involved in a public disturbance and robbery incident on January 22, 2025.
However, Quadri’s lawyer, Mr Inibehe Effiong, insisted that the charge was baseless. In a statement titled “Nigeria has happened to Alabi Quadri,” he decried the abuse of police power and wrongful detention of his client.
Effiong revealed that attempts to obtain case files and court records from the Apapa Magistrate’s Court proved abortive, prompting him and the boy’s family to visit Kirikiri prison. There, they confirmed the circumstances of his incarceration.
“It emerged from the visit that Alabi’s journey to prison began when some self-acclaimed area boys, feeling entitled to a share of the unexpected fortune that came his way as a result of that viral video, started threatening him,” Effiong explained.
He added that the Baale of the community had allegedly pressured Quadri’s family to buy a cow, rice, and prepare food for the area boys to appease them.
Effiong further claimed that the arrest was part of a conspiracy. “The police fraudulently joined Quadri with four strange adults who had no connection or relationship with him and claimed that the four strange men were his case mates,” he said. He also accused the police of falsely documenting Quadri’s age to be 18.
Following public outcry led by prison reform advocate Hassana Nurudeen of Ray of Hope Prison Outreach, Effiong said his team took swift action to ensure the boy’s release.
The lawyer has now demanded a N100 million compensation from the Nigeria Police Force and a public apology. He also called for disciplinary measures against officers involved in the arrest, particularly the Divisional Police Officer of Amukoko Division and the Investigating Police Officer, Inspector Odigbe Samuel.
“If the above three remedial demands are not fully complied with immediately, we shall initiate legal actions to seek redress,” Effiong warned.
He described Quadri’s case as a disturbing example of systemic failure in the justice and policing systems. “There are many Quadris languishing in detention centres across Nigeria because of the unbridled criminality, lawlessness, and lack of accountability in the Police institution and the weakness of the justice system,” he said.
