The magistrate court in Apapa axis Lagos has freed Quadri Alabi, the teenager who became famous during the buildup to the 2023 presidential election for standing before the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi’s campaign motorcade after campaigning in the state.
Alabi regained freedom barely three months after being arraigned before the court by the Lagos Police Command over alleged robbery with three other youngmen in Apapa Local Government Area of the state.
Like the photograph during the campaign, the teenager’s picture during his appearance before the court had earlier gained attention with many raising concerns on what formed reasons for Obi supporter’s remand in prison.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, the magistrate, Adetola Olorunfemi, ordered the release of Alabi following legal advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) which indicated that the allegations brought before the court against the minor were untrue.
The counsel for the teenager, Inibehe Effiong, who addressed the media after the ruling, disclosed that Alabi had been in Kirikiri prison since January 2025 for an offence he did not commit.
Effiong explained that the teenager was returning home from work when he was forcefully taken to the police station by some young men over claims that he was among a group of robbers in the community.
According to him, the teenager’s mother attributed Quadri’s ordeal to the entitlement of some street urchins to the largesse he reportedly received after making the headlines in 2023.
The legal practitioner, meanwhile, has demanded that the police pay N100 million compensation to Alabi and tender a public apology.
Aside from that, the counsel demanded that the Lagos police command must remove the divisional police officers of Amukoko for participating in the alleged framing of the teenager for armed robbery.
“We commend the DPP for standing by the truth in this matter. We demand that the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, and the Inspector General of Police, should as a matter of urgency, remove the DPO of Amukoko Divisional Headquarters and subject him to orderly room trial along with the IPO, one Inspector Odigbe Samuel, and other officers who participated in this evil, sinister, oppressive, and corrupt scheme of framing-up a teenager for armed robbery at the behest of rogue ‘Area Boys’.
“We demand that the Nigeria Police Force should pay the sum of One Hundred Million Naira (N100,000,000.00) to our client as compensation.
“Also, we also demand a public apology from the police. If the above three remedial demands are not fully complied with immediately, we shall initiate legal actions to seek redress.
“Quadri’s case is a painful example of the putrefying corruption, monstrous impunity, and pervasive injustice in the Nigeria Police Force.”
