News
I evacuated faeces daily in prison – Obi’s teenage supporter
Alabi Quadri, the teenage boy, who became popular for standing in front of the convoy of Peter Obi, during a campaign trail in Lagos in 2023, on Monday, shared a harrowing experience of how he spent a whole three months in Kirikiri Custodial Centre evacuating human wastes daily.
He said he had to carry out the duty because he was not prepared for his ordeal, meaning he had no money to pay the inmates for his comfort, which was the standard practice in the facility.
The lad, who was a guest of Morning Brief, a breakfast programme on Channels Television, narrated how he was picked up by the police at the gate of their house in Amukoko, a slum in the Ajegunle area, one of the slums in Lagos while returning from work on the fateful day.
He told his hosts that as a motor boy for a driver who was into carrying fish, he had arrived from Port Harcourt, and after the driver, who served as his master had paid him off, he was approaching his gate when some of the urchins in the area pointed him out to the police, who apprehended and took him to the station where he was forced into the same cell with four other men who were far older.
Speaking in pidgin English, he said: “I was just at the entrance of my house when the police came and arrested me. The area boys pointed me out. 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.”
Relieving his experience in prison, where he was eventually taken after spending an initial seven days at the police station in Amukoko, located at the Ajeromi Ifelodun Local Government Area of Lagos, he said his experience was as if he was not human.
Hear his story: “I don’t want to stay there again because some people have marked me. When this happened during the campaign (monetary gift) some of them told my mother that this money they gave this boy, she must share it into two and give them half of it. They threatened that if she did not, she would not see her son again because they would kidnap him and take him where she would never see him.
“My mother refused. She told them as I stood in front of that vehicle, what if I was shot, what would they be talking. She told them that sharing the money was not possible. But they said they didn’t want to hear that. Since that time, they had put me in their mind, saying that this boy they must take him to where he doesn’t expect.
“So, that day, I just came back from work, because I’m a motor boy, we used to carry fish to Port Harcourt. I’d finished work and my oga had given me money. But as I was coming home, I didn’t know there had been a fight in that area. So, when I was coming, I never knew that the police had already surrounded the area.
“Those Area Boys, as I was going, I just wanted to enter our gate to enter our house, I just saw those people and they came outside shouting – see the boy, see the boy and they grabbed me and took me away. They took me to the police station and put me inside cell.
“Those people they put me together with, I didn’t know who they were. I was the one small person among them. They were far my senior. They asked me from where they arrested me and I told them. They said I was among those that fought and collected peoples’ phones. I told them that even me, I just came back and that they even collected my own phones and money.
“My ordeal at Kirikiri was very painful. It was as if I had no family. From morning to 6pm I used to evacuate faeces, because I didn’t have money to plan well. I didn’t have money to give Marshal to keep me where I will not pack shit again. That was what I did everyday.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has appealed the judgement of the federal high court in Abuja nullifying the timelines issued for the conduct of party primaries and the nomination of candidates.
Alex Izinyon SAN, leading a team of lawyers of the commission in a notice of appeal dated May 25, raised nine grounds it urged the appellate court to consider and vacate the judgment the Federal High Court in Abuja delivered on May 20.
Apart from raising the issue of jurisdiction, which it said the lower court did not determine, INEC also maintained that the legal action the Youth Party (YP) initiated against it was not only hypothetical but academic.
Arguing that failure of the trial court to make pronouncements on the issues, resulted in the denial of fair hearing to the Appellant, the commission also stressed the lower court misinterpreted the provisions of the electoral act.
It said: “The high court erred in law when it held that: ‘It is clear from the wordings of Sections 29(1), 82 and 84 of the Electoral Act, 2026, the following can be understood. Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026 mandates Political Parties to submit the names of candidates in prescribed forms of the candidates who emerged from its valid primaries which such a political party intends to sponsor at the elections, not later than 120 days before the date of the General Election.
“What is required of Political Parties to do under the Electoral Act, 2026 is to notify the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) 21 days before the holding of its primaries, congresses or conventions, days before the holding of its primaries, congresses or conventions, or any conference or meeting convened for the election of its executive committees, other governing bodies for nominating candidates.
“The Defendant is not mandated to impose a timeframe for political parties to conduct their primaries provided that it will be done and submitted not later than the 120 days provided by the Electoral Act, 2026. See Section 82(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026.”
It was another day of misery in Kwara State, when daredevil terrorists reportedly stormed Yashikira Community in Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State, and as has been the case in many of the attacks, abducting scores of residents including women and children.
But, apparently to register their authority, the gunmen, who were said to have operated for hours without challenge from the security operatives, were said to have torched the palace of the Emir.
The attackers, which reportedly occurred late Sunday night were said to have announced their presence through heavy firing and after storming the palace of the monarch during the period, set it on fire before whisking away their victims, but a similar attempt at the police station in the community, was repelled.
While some of the residents, narrated how the spent hours without resistance, leaving behind destruction and fear in the border community, another account said the villagers were caught unawares as the gunmen invaded the town under the cover of darkness.
However operatives made up of the police and military personnel, were said to have launched a manhunt immediately for the immediate rescue of the victims, including throwing a cordon in the area as part of the mission.
“The suspect offered ₦500 million to the SPU commander in an attempt to make the team stand down and allow him to contact his associates to move the consignment elsewhere. The offer was rejected immediately and properly documented for further investigation.”
These were the exact words of Olohundare Jimoh Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), with which he detailed how operatives of the Zone 2 Command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) scoffed at a N500million bribe to turn their eyes off the importation of a huge consignment of drugs imported into the country.
This was part of the details of a major breakthrough by the operatives after bursting a major drug trafficking syndicate in Lagos, which led to the seizure of suspected illicit drugs estimated at ₦7.8 billion and arresting several suspects, including the alleged kingpin.
In the operation, reportedly carried out by officers of the Special Protection Unit (SPU) in collaboration with divisional police detectives, the operatives, were said to have stormed a house in Mende, Maryland area of Lagos, following months of surveillance and intelligence gathering coordinated by the Zone 2 Headquarters.
The recovered drugs consisted of hundreds of bags of suspected Canadian Loud, allegedly stored in the residence of the prime suspect, Jimoh, said disclosing that the suspect was apprehended on May 19 after weeks of strategic monitoring by operatives.
Offering further details, he said the operation was executed with technical support and guidance from the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, alongside coordinated efforts between the SPU and divisional police teams.
Jimoh revealed that during the operation, the suspect allegedly attempted to bribe the SPU commander with ₦500 million to compromise the mission and allow the movement of the drug consignment.
The AIG described the development as a reflection of the renewed professionalism and operational discipline being entrenched in the Force under the current policing strategy.
He noted that the success of the operation underscored the importance of deploying specialized police units alongside conventional divisional teams in tackling organized crime.
According to him, the operation demonstrated the effectiveness of rapid containment strategies, intelligence-led policing, and professional conduct among the operatives involved in the raid.
“Rapid containment was achieved as the Special Protection Unit worked with divisional teams to secure the perimeter and prevent escape or interference with evidence.
“The operation was intelligence-driven, following months of surveillance and technical monitoring before the raid was carried out.
“The immediate rejection and documentation of the bribe attempt also reflect the standard expected from redeployed personnel at the divisional level,” Jimoh added.
Reacting to the development, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, commended the operatives for their professionalism, saying the success of the operation validated the ongoing redeployment of personnel to divisions and units across Lagos and Ogun states.
The IGP noted: “Policing must be close to the people, and our specialized units must work side by side with divisional teams on the ground.
“The professionalism shown by the SPU commander in rejecting a ₦500 million bribe and following due procedure is the standard we expect. It shows that when you put your best foot forward at the grassroots, you get results and restore public trust.”
Disu further assured that the Force leadership would continue to reward integrity while holding officers accountable to the highest ethical standards.
Police authorities said exhibits recovered during the operation have been properly documented and will be tendered in court. The suspects are currently in custody while investigations continue to track down other members of the drug trafficking network.
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