The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Moshood Jimoh, has told Inibehe Effiong, the lawyer representing Alabi Quadri, to provide evidence that he was detained beyond constitutional provisions on detention.

He also revealed that he has set up a committee to investigate why the 18-year-old boy who became known during the 2023 presidential election for standing in front of Labour Party candidate Peter Obi’s convoy was arrested and detained.

According to the Lagos State Police Spokesperson, Ben Hundeyin, Quadri was arrested in connection with a street fight in Amukoko, a suburb of Lagos, in January.

He was charged in court alongside four others, and the court ruled that they be kept in custody while the legal process continues.

His arrest and detention gained media attention, and a human rights lawyer took up the case as Quadri’s legal representative. His case has been struck out by a magistrate’s court in Apapa, Lagos, for lack of evidence.

Following this, the Lagos Commissioner of Police said the police are investigating the circumstances surrounding his arrest and detention to ascertain if he was detained unjustly beyond constitutional provisions on arrest nd detention.

“The law permits us to detain between 24-48 hours, depending on the closeness of the court of competent jurisdiction to where such person is detained. It is expected that investigations are supposed to have started before you apprehend the offender,” said Jimoh.

Quadri’s legal counsel, Effiong, had accused the police of manipulating his age to prosecute him in court and of unlawful detention.

The commissioner of police said this was hearsay as he had checked the records and nothing pointed to the fact that he was in detention beyond the provisions of the law.

“In the record I checked, he was brought in a day before he was taken to court. But if the lawyer has a contrary opinion from the hearsay that this boy has been in detention beyond a reasonable doubt.”

He also advised Effiong to provide evidence on the unlawful detention he claimed in the media, so the police can investigate.