The Apapa Magistrate Court has discharged and acquitted Alabi Quadri, the boy who gained popularity during the 2023 general elections after confronting the campaign convoy of then-Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Sitting at Court 9, Sikiru Adagun Courthouse in Orege, Ajegunle, the court on Thursday ruled that Quadri had no case to answer regarding charges of conspiracy to commit felony and armed robbery.
Quadri spent months in detention at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre in Lagos.
He was brought to court on April 17, 2025, amid tight security. Although the hearing was initially scheduled for April 28, the appearance was brought forward following a request jointly made by human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), a move the court approved.
Quadri, in 2023, was captured standing in front of Peter Obi’s campaign convoy, earning him widespread admiration.
However, his rising public profile reportedly led to envy and resentment within his local community. According to his lawyer, Quadri’s subsequent arrest and detention stemmed not from any criminal act, but from vendettas carried by “area boys” who believed they were entitled to share in the financial and social goodwill that followed his popularity.