Human rights lawyer and activist, Inibehe Effiong, has slammed the Nigeria Police Force a ₦100 million lawsuit for wrongfully detaining 17-year-old Alabi Quadri for months at the Kirikiri correctional facility on allegations of armed robbery.
Quadri gained public attention in the lead-up to the 2023 general elections after a video of him standing in front of the convoy of former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, went viral.
On Thursday, a Magistrate Court in Apapa, Lagos, presided over by Magistrate Adetola Olorunfemi, ordered Quadri’s release following legal advice issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Dr. Babajide Martins, who found no basis for the charges.
Quadri gained public attention in the lead-up to the 2023 general elections after a video of him standing in front of the convoy of former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, went viral. Shortly afterward, the teenager was arrested by police and charged with armed robbery — a charge his family has consistently denied.
Speaking to journalists shortly after the ruling, Effiong praised the DPP for “standing by the truth” and described Quadri’s ordeal as a reflection of the “monstrous impunity” within the Nigeria Police Force.
Effiong also issued a stern demand to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police and the Inspector General of Police to immediately remove the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the Amukoko Division, and to subject him and the Investigating Police Officer, Inspector Odigbe Samuel, to an orderly room trial.
The activist accused them and other officers of orchestrating a “sinister and corrupt scheme” to frame the teenager at the instigation of local miscreants.
In addition to monetary compensation, Effiong is demanding a formal and public apology from the police to Quadri. He warned that failure to meet these demands would result in legal a“Quadri’s case is a painful example of the putrefying corruption, monstrous impunity, and pervasive injustice in the Nigeria Police Force.
He maintained that there are many Quadris languishing in detention centres across Nigeria because of the unbridled criminality, lawlessness, and lack of accountability in the Police institution and the weakness of the justice system, adding, “history will vindicate the just.”
