The Lagos Magistrate Court finally discharged 17-year-old Quadri Yusuf Alabi on April 17, 2025, ending a harrowing four-month ordeal that began with his abduction by local thugs in Amukoko. The teenager, who gained national fame in 2023 after a spontaneous show of admiration for Peter Obi’s campaign convoy, had been languishing in Kirikiri prison on fabricated armed robbery charges.
Quadri’s nightmare unfolded when two notorious area boys known as Lege and Baba Waris – allegedly jealous of donations he received after his viral moment – kidnapped him near his family home. Shockingly, community leaders reportedly pressured Quadri’s widowed mother to “appease” the perpetrators with gifts of rice and a cow rather than seek justice. At the police station, officers escalated the false allegations, deliberately misrepresenting his age as 18 to circumvent juvenile protections before charging him alongside four unrelated adults.
Human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong took up the case after prison reform advocate Hassana Nurudeen exposed the injustice. Magistrate A.O. Olorunfemi ultimately relied on the Director of Public Prosecution’s finding of “no evidence” to dismiss all charges. But the victory comes with scars – Quadri endured months in an adult prison, while his family faced ongoing threats from the same network that orchestrated his arrest.
Effiong has demanded immediate disciplinary action against Amukoko’s Divisional Police Officer and investigating officer Samuel Odigbe, along with N100 million in compensation for rights violations. A crowdfunding initiative launched to relocate the family from their hostile neighborhood raised over N3 million within hours, reflecting public outrage over the case.
