Quadri Alabi, the young man whose image went viral during the 2023 election campaign for his bold act of standing in front of Labour Party candidate Peter Obi’s convoy, has revealed the harrowing conditions he endured during his detention at Kirikiri Correctional Centre in Lagos.
Alabi shared his story on Channels Television’s “The Morning Brief” on Monday, recounting a series of events he says began after his campaign picture surfaced.
“Since the viral campaign picture surfaced, it seems like some people have been keeping a close watch on me,” Alabi said. “Someone even threatened my mum, saying that the money they have given me would be split in two, or else she wouldn’t see me again.
They warned that they would kidnap me and take me somewhere. She couldn’t even use the money.”
He described the circumstances leading to his arrest: “On the day I returned from work as a motor boy, I had no idea that a fight had broken out in the area and that the police had already surrounded it.
As I approached our house, some area boys grabbed me and handed me over to another, instructing them to take me to their station.
I was just at the entrance of my house when the police came and arrested me.
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The area boys pointed me out.”
Alabi continued, detailing his experience at the police station and Kirikiri: “At the station, I was the youngest there.
I was locked up with older men. They asked me what I did, and I said nothing.
Before the arrest, the area boys had already taken my phone and the money in my pocket.
In Kirikiri, my daily task was to clean up faeces from morning until six in the evening because I couldn’t afford to pay the Marshall.”