Human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, on Tuesday, called out the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Jimoh Moshood, for seeking an investigation into Quadri Alabi’s birth certificate.
Alabi went viral in 2023 after standing in front of the convoy of Peter Obi, during the Labour Party presidential candidate’s campaign in Lagos.
The police commissioner had refuted claims by Effiong that Alabi is a minor and was compelled by the police to state that he was 18 years old.
In response to Moshood’s claim, Effiong threatened to call off a scheduled meeting with the police commissioner.
In a post on the microblogging site X, Effiong said he, alongside the co-founder of Ray of Hope Prison Outreach, Ms. Hassana Nurudeen, were at the command headquarters in Lagos State for the meeting.
Effiong accused the commissioner of misrepresenting Alabi’s case, referring to his commentary as “sad”.
He wrote, “We are currently at the Headquarters of the Lagos State Police Command to meet with the Commissioner of Police, following his request for a meeting regarding Quadri Alabi’s case.
“We are however taken aback by the views and comments expressed this morning by the CP on Channels TV where he went out of his way to misrepresent the facts of the case.
“His comments are sad and enough reason for us to boycott the meeting. However, I’m inclined to still meet with him out of courtesy and respect for his office, and we have nothing to hide.
“I’m here for the meeting with Quadri and Hassana Nurudeen (@Hausa_girl). We will keep you updated on the outcome of the meeting”.
The commissioner had claimed on Channels TV that Alabi identified himself as an adult, contrary to his lawyer’s claim, thus calling for an investigation of the certificate paraded by the lawyer.
“The Trial has not been opened into the matter. The remand process was what we went to the court for, and the court saw reason with us, from the statement of the boy that he’s 18 years old, and he was remanded in a custodial facility, and the matter was supposed to come up for trial.
“In the statement form, it was the boy himself who said he was 18 and it was recorded. I have been to Amukoko Police Station and I still went there yesterday to check the entry they have.
“If you’re in the 18th year and you’re above 17 going to 18 and you tell a policeman you’re 18, you’ll be treated as such. So, what we have in our record in the statement that Quadri filled is 18 years and it was based on that we proceeded with the investigation into the matter.
“The record we have is that the boy stated he is 18, and the best person to tell the actual age is the parent. The birth certificate that the lawyer is parading should be investigated because birth certificates are not issued over the phone; we all know how they are issued.
“Even if it is an affidavit of declaration of age, it is not issued over the phone. Nowadays, because of AI (artificial intelligence) and other technology, anything can be doctored,” he said.
Moshood noted that Alabi’s statement was not taken under duress. According to him, “being under duress or not is clearly out of it in stating your age, biological or social history.”
The CP said Alabi’s age, as quoted by the command, was based on the information provided by the teenager.
