There is widespread anger regarding the case of Yusuf Alabi,
a 15-year-old supporter of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in
the 2023 election, Peter Obi who has been held at the Kirikiri Correctional
Centre since January this year.
Alabi became popular nationwide in 2023 when he was
photographed standing bravely in front of Peter Obi’s convoy during a rally in
Lagos.
The still image from the event went viral and was seen and
used by Obi’s supporters as a symbol of hope for Nigerian youths.
Reacting to his shocking detention, Peter Obi in a post on
his official X handle expressed deep concern over the boy’s prolonged
detention, urging relevant authorities to uphold the rule of law.
The former Anambra Governor said he contacted a lawyer,
Inibehe Effiong, “who, luckily, has been actively working to intensify his
release”.
Obi appealed to the Nigeria Police and other government
agents to “always operate within the law and the rules and stop weaponizing
citizens, especially our youths”.
The lawyer, Effiong on Wednesday visited the facility where
the young boy is being held and shared an update in a statement on his Facebook
page.
After thoroughly interviewing him, Effiong said the boy was
abducted by some ‘area boys’ in January this year near his home while he was
returning from work.
He said prior to the ‘abduction’, the area boys had been
threatening Alabi over a “share of the unexpected fortune that came his way
when he halted and stood in front of Obi’s convoy during the last
electioneering campaign”.
“Since he failed to properly “settle” some people, it has
been one attack to another”, Effiong stated.
The lawyer revealed that after Alabi was abducted, the area
boys, “who have been threatening to deal with Alabi for not sharing the money
he was gifted, dragged him to the Amukoko Police Station (Pako Police Station)
where he was detained.
“The area boys initially claimed that Alabi was one of the
young men who has been involved in street fights.
“However, it came as a rude shock when the Police took him
before a Magistrate along with four other individuals who are complete
strangers to him, alleging that he conspired with them to commit “Armed
Robbery” with cutlasses.
“The Police in the charge sheet alleged that the alleged two
victims were robbed of money and four mobile phones.
“The value of both the physical cash and four phones is
N579,000 only.
“I spent about two hours interviewing Alabi about the
veracity of the charges brought by the police. Speaking objectively, we all
left Kirikiri with a strong conviction that this gentleman is just another
victim of Nigeria’s criminal justice system”.
Also reacting to the unfortunate developments, an activist
lawyer, Deji Adeyanju in a post on his Facebook page said “this is the normal
daily reality in Nigeria”.
According to him, the “helpless and poor go through hell in
Nigeria daily”.
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