Quadri Yusuf Alabi, the 17-year-old who captured national attention during the 2023 general elections after boldly standing in front of the convoy of Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, has been freed after months in detention at the Kirikiri Medium Security Custodial Centre.
Alabi was discharged on Thursday by Magistrate A. O. Olorunfemi of the Apapa Magistrate Court following legal advice from the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Dr Babajide Martins, which found no evidence linking the teenager to the alleged crime of armed robbery.
According to his lawyer, human rights activist Inibehe Effiong, Alabi was abducted near his home in Amukoko, Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local Government Area, by two well-known street touts in the area known as Lege and Baba Waris.
The teenager was later taken to the Amukoko Divisional Police Headquarters.
“The abductors initially told the officers at Amukoko Police Station that our client was involved in street fighting. (But) to the consternation of Quadri and his family, the police on 26th January, 2025, took Quadri before a magistrate in Apapa and obtained an order remanding him at the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kirikiri, on a trumped-up charge of armed robbery,” Effiong said in a post on X.
Effiong revealed that Quadri had long faced harassment from area boys in his community who felt entitled to donations and goodwill he received after his viral encounter with Obi’s convoy.
The family was allegedly pressured by community leaders, including the Baale, to “appease” the local thugs with gifts, including a cow and rice.
The police, in an alleged attempt to legitimise the charges, reportedly joined Quadri’s case with four unknown adult men and deliberately misrepresented his age as 18.
Effiong said the case was brought to public attention after Ms Hassana Nurudeen, co-founder of Ray of Hope Prison Outreach, raised the alarm. Following this, legal efforts to secure Quadri’s release intensified.
In court, the presiding magistrate cited the DPP’s legal advice, which explicitly recommended against prosecuting Quadri due to a lack of evidence.
The legal team is now calling for the immediate removal and disciplinary action against the Divisional Police Officer of Amukoko Division, the Investigating Police Officer, Inspector Odigbe Samuel, and all other officers involved in what Effiong described as a “sinister, oppressive, and corrupt scheme”.
They are also demanding a public apology from the Nigeria Police Force and compensation of N100 million for the unlawful arrest and detention of Quadri.
“Quadri’s case is a painful example of the putrefying corruption, monstrous impunity, and pervasive injustice in the Nigeria Police Force.
“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,” Effiong added.
