Seventeen-year-old Quadri Yusuf Alabi, who rose to national attention during the 2023 presidential elections for boldly standing in front of Labour Party candidate Peter Obi’s convoy, has regained his freedom after spending nearly three months at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre in Lagos.
Alabi was discharged on Thursday, April 17, 2025, by a Magistrate Court in Apapa following legal advice from the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), which found no evidence to support the armed robbery charge brought against him.
His lawyer, human rights activist Inibehe Effiong, announced the court’s decision in a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter). Effiong described the charge as a “diabolical frame-up,” allegedly orchestrated by known area boys in Alabi’s Amukoko community — identified as Lege and Baba Waris — who had reportedly harassed the teenager since 2023.
According to Effiong, Alabi was abducted by the duo near his family home in Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local Government Area and handed over to the Amukoko Divisional Police Station. The duo, along with other local miscreants, had reportedly been demanding a “share” of donations Alabi received from well-wishers after his viral encounter with Obi.
The boy’s family revealed that even the community Baale (traditional leader) pressured them to appease the area boys by slaughtering a cow and hosting a feast. Despite initially accusing Alabi of street fighting, the police on January 26 arraigned him before a Magistrate on an armed robbery charge. He was subsequently remanded at Kirikiri alongside four adults he had never met — a move Effiong says was part of the police’s attempt to falsely link him to a criminal syndicate.
To compound matters, the police misrepresented Alabi’s age as 18 to avoid the legal scrutiny typically applied to cases involving minors.
Effiong and his legal team were only briefed a week ago by Alabi’s mother, following public outcry sparked by Ms. Hassana Nurudeen, Co-founder of Ray of Hope Prison Outreach. Swift legal action was taken to challenge the wrongful incarceration.
At Thursday’s court sitting, Magistrate A.O. Olorunfemi affirmed that the DPP, Dr. Babajide Martins, found no credible evidence to prosecute Alabi. The teenager was immediately discharged and released.
Effiong praised the DPP for “standing by the truth” and called for urgent disciplinary measures against the police officers involved in the case, including the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Amukoko Police Station and the Investigating Police Officer, Inspector Odigbe Samuel.
The legal team is demanding:
- The immediate removal and disciplinary trial of the implicated officers;
- A public apology from the Nigeria Police Force;
- A compensation of ₦100 million for their client.
“Quadri’s case is a painful example of the putrefying corruption, monstrous impunity, and pervasive injustice in the Nigeria Police Force,” Effiong stated. “There are many Quadris languishing in detention across Nigeria — victims of a justice system captured by criminality and impunity.”
Effiong concluded with a warning that if the demands are not met, legal action would be initiated to seek redress.
