By Charles Igbo
“Obi moves in, hires lawyer for him, appeals to Police to operate within the ambits of the law”
It was not only Peter Obi’s heart that the teenager stole. He stole everybody’s heart.
On that fateful day in Lagos, 2023, Peter Obi, then Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, was campaigning. The crowd was unprecedented. Lagosians trooped out in their scores of thousands. It was massive.
There was, literally, no movement. Everybody who trooped out wanted to see Obi, wanted to touch Obi.
The security details attached to the Presidential Candidate were in for a tough job. They were exasperated. They didn’t know how to manage the crowd, keep the people at bay, and protect him.
Then, out of the blues, this young boy beat Security. Wearing shorts, a sweat-soaked tee-shirt, eyes so innocent it melted hearts, he stood in front of Obi’s vehicle. Arms stretched to their very limit, he blocked Obi’s vehicle, thus forced the crawling convoy to a complete stop.
His innocent eyes focused on Obi. He looked straight into Obi’s eyes, as if pleading: “my future depends on you, on your success, on your victory. Obi returned his gaze, looked straight into the teenager’s eyes. It was an electrifying moment as their eyes locked.
The photograph was iconic, one of the best, one of the most touching taken during the 2023 Presidential campaign.
When it was published the next day, it melted hearts. The boy’s innocent eyes and gaze were disarming. A couple of people made promises to the boy. One does not know if those promises were kept. If they were, it was not public. He even, finally, met with Obi, his idol, the man in whose hands he seemed to have trusted his fate.
Two years down the line, the teenager, Quadri Yusuf Alabi, is in a mess. He is locked away in jail, accused, allegedly, of theft. For three months, he was not arraigned in Court. He was just dumped in jail.
Alabi’s fate was made public thanks to a post on X on Monday. The post said Alabi was arraigned before Orege Court, Ajegunle Area of Lagos on 27, March, 2025. The case was adjourned to April 28, and Alabi sent back to Kirikiri Correctional Facility.
What he, allegedly, stole is not known yet. But many people have spoken up for him. They say it is not true; that the teenager is not a thief; that he stole nothing. They insist he was, allegedly, framed because he did not share the money, allegedly, given to him in 2023 because of that iconic photograph during Obi’s Campaign in Lagos.
The post on X said Alimi was on his way back to home from work when he was accosted by some boys in the street and taken to a Police Station where he was accused of being one of those who steal and fight in the area.
Mercifully, Alimi’s sad story has caught the attention of his idol, Peter Obi. In a statement on his official X page, Obi disclosed that he has contacted a Lawyer to intervene in Alabi’s plight.
Obi: “After delivering my speech at the Commonwealth event in London today, I was made aware of the young boy named Quadri Yusuf Alabi, who has been detained for over three months without trial, appeared in court for the first time in March, and still remains in custody.
“I have contacted a lawyer, Barrister Inibehe Effiong @InibeheEffiong. who, luckily, has been actively working to intensify his release.
“I sincerely appeal to the Police and other agents of the government to always operate within the law and the rules and stop weaponizing citizens, especially, our youths, who need our care and love to unleash their talents and energy towards building a new Nigeria that is possible. – PO”
Also, a human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, has asked to be furnished with details of the case, Alabi’s family and lawyer.
He said: “Given the boy’s apparent innocence, immediate rescue efforts are necessary to remove him from prison. If anyone has access to his lawyers and family, kindly notify us at your earliest convenience.”
Now, Sowore knows the Lawyer Obi hired.
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