INIBEHE Effiong, the lawyer who secured the release of Lagos State teenager Alabi Quadri from prison, has accused the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) of manipulating the facts and failing to come clean about the reason its actions led to the boy languishing behind bars.
In a statement released on Saturday, April 19, the human rights lawyer described the statement issued by the police earlier today, Saturday, as “false and provocative.”
The ICIR reported that the police claimed they arrested Quadri for street fighting.
Recall that the boy’s travails have been linked to the money gifted to him by the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, after he stood before Obi’s convoy in Lagos State during an election campaign as a demonstration of his love for the former Anambra governor.
Effiong had said that some touts in Quadri’s neighbourhood, known as area boys, felt they should share in the boy’s gift from Obi.
Quadri’s failure to accede to the area boys’ demand led to his abduction by the irate boys, who accused him of theft allegedly in collusion with the police.
The boy was eventually sent to the Kirikiri Correctional Centre in the state, where he spent three months among four adults with whom he was accused of robbing people in the nation’s commercial hub. Effiong said the boy did not know any of the four adults with whom he shared the charges.
Quadri spent three months in prison in addition to the days he spent at police detention before succour came his way and he regained his freedom, according to his lawyer.
Reacting to the boy’s ordeal Saturday afternoon, Effiong said the police narrative on the boy’s travails was not only laughable but 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,” Effiong stated.
The lawyer explained that the police claimed that Quadri was arrested in connection with street fighting, where some properties were damaged and that some persons were also robbed.
He argued that contrary to the 18-year-old given to the boy by the police, his birth certificate showed he was 17.
“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,” he claimed.
He added that Quadri was not involved in street fighting, did not rob anyone, and did not damage anyone’s property.
Effiong also said that there was no time that the teenager was identified by any victim of the alleged crimes, as posited by the police. He challenged the police to tell Nigerians 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 10 pm?‘ he queried.
He also questioned why the police said Quadri was arrested, but failed to state who exactly arrested him and the place where he was arrested.
The lawyer said the police failed to disclose the relationship between Quadri and the four adults remanded with him, despite them being people the boy did not know.
He added that Quadri was detained for a week before being ‘unlawfully’ brought before a magistrate, which he said was against the law.
The lawyer condemned the police for ignoring the Director of Public Prosecutions’ advice and the court’s discharge of Quadri, instead of showing remorse for their errors.
He vowed to seek redress and compensation in court against the police officers involved in Quadri’s travails and file a complaint with the Police Service Commission (PSC) on the issue.
“We condemn this gross act of recklessness and irresponsibility by the police. By taking this path, the Nigerian 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.
“We will also file a formal complaint with the Police Service Commission against the lawless DPO of Amukoko. Nigeria is our country, we will not allow agents of impunity to get away with such abominable oppression of a Nigerian child,” he vowed.
The ICIR reported that Quadri regained freedom on Thursday after months in detention.
A Lagos Magistrate Court discharged the teenager following legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP), which confirmed there was no evidence to support the armed robbery charge levelled against him.
Effiong, who represented the teenager, confirmed the boy’s release in a statement.
He noted that the presiding judge, A. O. Olorunfemi, discharged the teenager.
The ICIR also gathered that Nigerians raised over N3 million within two hours to support Quadri.
The appeal, which Effiong initiated shortly after his release, sought financial help from Nigerians to urgently relocate the boy and his family from Amukoko, due to persistent threats to their lives.
“We have raised N3 million within two hours of announcing the fundraising for Quadri Alabi.
“We are still far from the target, but the amount raised so far demonstrates that there are good and spirited people in Nigeria,” Effiong wrote in a statement on his social media handle.
Meanwhile, Obi has promised to further support the boy. He also demanded justice for him.
He stated these when he received the boy in Lagos State on Friday, April 18.
Quadri was led to the former Anambra State governor by his lawyer, Effiong.
A reporter with the ICIR
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