Lagos-based lawyer and outspoken advocate against oppression, Inibehe Effiong, popularly known on X as @inibeheeffiong, has taken the time to shed light on the case of Alabi Quadri, the teenager who gained popularity after standing in front of Peter Obi’s campaign convoy during the 2023 election season.
A report earlier stated that Quadri had ended up in prison, stirring concern among the public.
In response to this, Effiong decided to personally investigate the matter and uncover the truth behind how the teenager’s symbolic act led to his imprisonment, and how Nigeria happened to him.
Inibehe revealed that he and his team visited the Lagos State Magistrate Court on the 9th of April, to uncover the story behind the detention, and eventual transfer of young Alabi to the Kirikiri Prison in Lagos State. He also noted that after spending hours at the Lagos State Magistrate Court, he was accompanied by a fellow lawyer from his firm, Quadri’s mother, a few of his relatives, and the activist who initially brought the case to public attention, to see Quadri at the prison.
Inebehe confirmed that Quadri has been in custody since January. He further affirmed that the teenager was abducted by local thugs, commonly known as Area Boys, near his residence while returning from his place of work.
According to the information Lawyer Inibehe gathered from Alabi Quadri and his mother, Alabi’s journey to prison was connected to the lengthy dispute he has been involved in with a group of persons in his area, who tagged themselves “Area Boys”. As recounted by mother and son, the lawyer stated that the area boys wanted to get a share of the fortune that came to Alabi when he stood at the convoy of LP’s 2023 presidential candidate campaign’s convoy. Due to his refusal to “settle” some people, Alibi began facing different attacks, which included his abduction. The lawyer went further, recounting how the boy went from being abducted to becoming a convict. He wrote:
“After abducting Alabi, the same area boys who have been threatening to deal with him for not sharing the money he was gifted dragged him to the Amukoko Police Station (Pako Police Station) where he was detained. The area boys initially claimed that Alabi was one of the young men who has been involved in street fights.
However, it came as a rude shock when the Police took him before a Magistrate along with four other individuals who are complete strangers to him, alleging that he conspired with them to commit “Armed Robbery” with cutlasses.
The Police in the charge sheet alleged that the alleged two victims were robed of money and four mobile phones.
The value of both the physical cash and four phones is N579,000 only”
After recounting the stories he was told, the lawyer, in an effort to hear from both sides, stated that he interviewed the victim for two hours to ascertain the truth of the charges leveled against Alabi by the police. In his objective view, the lawyer affirmed that as he and his team left Kirikiri, he had a strong conviction that Alabi was another unfortunate Nigerian who fell victim to Nigeria’s criminal justice system.
Finally, the lawyer observed that the victim in question is less than 18 years old, was made to appear before a Magistrate Court on three different occasions, during which, in one of them, he was remanded in custody with four other adult strangers at the Kirikiri Custodial Centre. He also assured the public that he would provide more information on the matter and would do all that is legally possible to bring freedom to Alabi Quadri.
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