The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Moshood Jimoh, has called on Inibehe Effiong, the lawyer representing Alabi Quadri, to provide proof that Quadri was detained beyond the legal limits as stipulated by the constitution.
The commissioner also revealed that a committee has been established to investigate the arrest and detention of the 18-year-old, who gained attention during the 2023 presidential election for standing in front of Labour Party candidate Peter Obi’s convoy.
According to Ben Hundeyin, the spokesperson for the Lagos State Police, Quadri was arrested in January in connection with a street altercation in Amukoko, a Lagos suburb.
He was charged alongside four others, and the court ruled that they should remain in custody while legal proceedings continue.
The incident drew media attention, leading a human rights lawyer to take up Quadri’s case.
Eventually, a magistrate’s court in Apapa, Lagos, struck out the case for lack of evidence.
Following this, Commissioner Jimoh said that the police are thoroughly investigating the circumstances surrounding Quadri’s arrest and detention to determine whether he was unlawfully detained beyond the time allowed by law.
“The law permits us to detain between 24-48 hours, depending on the proximity of the court of competent jurisdiction to where the person is being held.”
“It is expected that investigations should begin before an offender is apprehended,” Jimoh explained.
Quadri’s lawyer, Effiong, had previously accused the police of manipulating Quadri’s age for prosecution purposes and of detaining him unlawfully.
In response, Commissioner Jimoh dismissed this as hearsay.
He stated that after reviewing the records, he found no evidence to suggest that Quadri had been held beyond the legally permissible timeframe.
“In the record I checked, he was brought in a day before he was taken to court. But if the lawyer has a different opinion or evidence that this boy has been in detention beyond a reasonable doubt, he should present it,” Jimoh said.
The police commissioner also urged Effiong to provide concrete evidence of the unlawful detention claims so that further investigation could take place.
