In a troubling development, 17-year-old Alabi Quadri, who gained national attention in 2023 after a viral photograph captured him standing with arms outstretched before the convoy of Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, has been detained since January on questionable charges.
Human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong disclosed this information via a Facebook post following a visit to the Magistrate Court of Lagos, Apapa Magisterial District, on 9 April 2025.
According to Mr. Effiong, Quadri was abducted near his residence by local ‘area boys’ while returning from work.
These individuals, harbouring resentment over Quadri’s perceived failure to share financial gifts received after his viral moment, accused him of involvement in street fights. They subsequently handed him over to the Amukoko Police Station, leading to his detention.
Shockingly, the police charged Quadri, alongside four unfamiliar adults, with conspiracy to commit armed robbery using cutlasses. The alleged victims were reportedly robbed of cash and mobile phones valued at ₦579,000.
Mr Effiong, after interviewing Quadri for approximately two hours, expressed strong doubts about the veracity of these charges, suggesting that Quadri is “just another victim of Nigeria’s criminal justice system.”
Compounding the concern, Quadri, a minor under 18, has appeared before the magistrate three times and remains remanded at the Minimum Security Custodial Centre in Kirikiri, Lagos, pending legal advice from the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions.
Mr Effiong affirmed his commitment to exhausting all legal avenues to secure Quadri’s release, pledging to provide further updates as the case progresses.
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