Court Discharges Teen Who Stood Before Peter Obi’s Convoy

A Lagos court has discharged and acquitted Alabi Quadri, the teenager who went viral in 2023 for standing in front of Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi’s convoy.

The Apapa Magistrate Court ruled on Thursday, April 17, that Quadri had no case to answer over charges of conspiracy to commit felony and armed robbery.

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Quadri had been held at Kirikiri Prison for months after being arrested in January near his home in Ajegunle. He was reportedly abducted by local gang members, known as “area boys”, who had previously threatened him.

Human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong said the gang members were angry over the attention and donations Quadri received following the viral video. They allegedly handed him over to the police on false claims of street fighting.

He was later charged alongside four strangers with armed robbery involving cash and mobile phones. Effiong said Quadri, still a minor, was jailed with adults in Kirikiri Prison while awaiting legal advice.

The hearing, originally scheduled for 28 April, was brought forward after a request by Effiong and the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions.