News

Lawyer Berates Lagos Police For Framing-Up Boy Who Stood In Front Of Obi’s Convoy

ByOlamilekan Adigun

PublishedApril 19, 2025

A lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, has accused the Lagos State Police Command of spreading fake news about Quadri Alabi, the boy who stood in front of the convoy of Labour Party Presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

OSUN DEFENDER reports that a Magistrate court in Lagos on Thursday released Alabi after months in prison.

But the Lagos Police, in a statement by the command spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, on Friday, said Alabi was arrested in connection with street fighting.

The police said some properties were damaged, and that some persons were also robbed during the fighting, adding that Alabi was identified by the victims.

However, in a statement he posted on X, Effiong, who is the counsel to Alabi, said the 17-year-old teenager was not involved in street fighting and did not rob anyone, adding that the teenager did not damage anyone’s property.

Effiong challenged the e police to tell the public when and where the victims identified Alabi as one of the culprits.

The lawyer states that the state Police Command, rather than exude remorse, has chosen the ignoble path of doubling down on its acts of perfidy, shamelessness, lawlessness, and utter contempt for justice and the truth.

He condemned the statement by the police, describing it as a gross act of recklessness and irresponsibility

The statement reads in part, “Our attention has been drawn to a false and provocative statement issued by the Lagos State Police Command in which the Command unsuccessfully attempted to mislead the public on the fabricated case they initiated against Quadri Alabi. The statement is not only laughable, it is ridiculous. It is embarrassing to see the police spread disinformation and fake news about an innocent Nigerian child.

“Nigerians will note that in our previous statements, we disclosed that our client was abducted by two ‘Area Boys’ named Lege and Baba Waris while he was on his way home from work and dumped at the Amukoko Divisional Police Station.

“These same Area Boys and their cohorts have been harassing our client since 2023 in their effort to extort “their share’ of the donations made to him after he stood in front of the convoy of Mr. Peter Obi. In its statement, the police claimed that Quadri was arrested in connection with street fighting.

“First, we wish to restate that Quadri is not 18 years old as mischievously parroted by the police. He is 17 as contained in his birth certificate and attested to by his mother. He was born on the 29th day of September 2007. Second, Quadri was not involved in street fighting and did not rob anyone, he also did not damage anyone’s property.

“Third, there was no time that our client was identified by any victim of the alleged crimes. The police should tell the public when and where the identification was done and the method used. How was Quadri identified by the alleged victims when no identification parade was conducted as required by law, given that the alleged offences were said to have been committed at about 10pm? Fourth, the police, in their statement, said that our client was arrested, but they failed to state who exactly arrested him and the place he was arrested. Their silence on these key points is quite revealing.

“Sixth, the so-called casemates of Quadri are adults who are not known to him. The police failed to disclose the relationship or connection between Quadri and the four adults who were remanded along with him. We should also state for the records that the police had detained Quadri for about a week in the police cell before unlawfully taking him before a Magistrate for remand. It is the law that once the permissible constitutional limit for detaining a suspect has passed, a subsequent order of remand cannot cure the infringement. It is preposterous that despite the Legal Advice issued by the Learned Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Lagos State exonerating Quadri, and his subsequent discharge by the Court, the Lagos State Police Command.

“Rather than exude remorse, has chosen the ignoble path of doubling down on its acts of perfidy, shamelessness, lawlessness, and utter contempt for justice and the truth. We condemn this gross act of recklessness and irresponsibility by the police. By taking this path, the Nigeria Police Force is reminding the country that it is very far from redemption. We shall meet the Commissioner of Police, CP Olohundare Moshood Jimoh, the DPO of Amukoko CSP Olaniran Ismaila O., the IPO Inspector Odigbe Samuel, and others in the court in the coming days to seek redress and adequate compensation for Quadri.”

Olamilekan Adigun

Olamilekan Adigun is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience in journalism embedded in uncovering human interest stories. He also prioritises accuracy and factual reportage of issues.