After months of detention at the Kirikiri correctional facility, 17-year-old Alabi Quadri, who gained attention for standing in front of Peter Obi’s convoy during the 2023 presidential election, has been released.
His freedom came after a legal review from the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Dr Babajide Martins, who cleared him of the armed robbery charges that led to his arrest.
Magistrate Adetola Olorunfemi of the Apapa Magistrate’s Court discharged Quadri on Wednesday after the DPP’s legal advice confirmed that there was no credible evidence to support the allegations.
The case against him was officially dismissed.
Quadri was arrested in January under controversial circumstances.
He was allegedly abducted by two self-proclaimed area boys, Lege and Baba Waris, near his home in the Amukoko area of Lagos.
They reportedly handed him over to the police at the Amukoko Divisional Police Headquarters, also known as Pako Police Station.
According to his family, Quadri was returning home from work when he was forcefully taken.
His legal team and relatives assert that the arrest stemmed from resentment among local area boys who were upset because Quadri had not shared the financial gifts he received after going viral during the election season.
Despite being underage, police officials misrepresented Quadri’s age, claiming he was 18, and charged him alongside four adult suspects with no clear connection to him.
These charges included involvement in an armed robbery incident on January 22, 2025.
Lagos State Police Command spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, had earlier defended the arrest, citing testimonies from local residents and victims who identified Quadri as one of the individuals involved in the robbery and disturbance.
However, Quadri’s lawyer, Mr Inibehe Effiong, rejected the charges as unfounded.
In a statement titled “Nigeria has happened to Alabi Quadri,” Effiong condemned the abuse of police authority and the wrongful detention of his client.
Effiong also described difficulties in obtaining the case files and court records from the Apapa Magistrate’s Court, prompting him and Quadri’s family to visit Kirikiri prison, where they learned about the circumstances surrounding the detention.
Effiong explained, “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.”
He added that the Baale (local leader) of the community allegedly pressured the family to appease the area boys by buying a cow and food for them.
The lawyer accused the police of complicity in a conspiracy, stating that they falsely linked Quadri to four unrelated adult suspects and fabricated his age as 18.
He described the arrest as part of a wider scheme to exploit the teenager.
Effiong’s public advocacy, along with support from prison reform advocate Hassana Nurudeen of Ray of Hope Prison Outreach, prompted swift legal action to secure Quadri’s release.
Now free, Effiong is demanding N100 million in compensation from the Nigeria Police Force and an official public apology.
He also called for disciplinary actions against those responsible for the wrongful 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.
In his statement, Effiong criticized the systemic failures within Nigeria’s 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.
