Quadri Yusuf Alabi, the young Nigerian who gained national attention during the 2023 general elections for standing fearlessly before the convoy of Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has opened up about his traumatic ordeal in Kirikiri Prison following what he described as a false accusation.
In a gripping interview aired on Channels Television on Monday, Quadri detailed how his life spiralled after that viral moment of courage. He was arrested, detained, and thrown into prison after allegedly being framed by local thugs in his community.
“My job in prison from morning to night was to clean faeces,” he said with visible pain. “I was treated like someone without a family. I didn’t have money to give the wardens, so they left me in that condition. That was my daily punishment.”
The young man, once hailed for his boldness, said the attention he received after the campaign drew envy and threats from people around him.
“When the campaign happened in 2023, some people were telling my mum that the money Peter Obi gave me should be shared with them,” he revealed. “They threatened to kidnap me if we didn’t share it.”
According to Quadri, his mother stood her ground and refused.
“My mum told them it can’t be possible, that if her son, who stood in front of the car, had been shot, would they be asking for a share if I had died?”
But that defiance came at a cost. Quadri said he was ultimately handed over to the police by the same people who threatened him, under allegations of conspiracy and armed robbery.
“I had just come back from work, I was a motor boy delivering fish to Port Harcourt. As I got to our street, I didn’t know a fight had broken out earlier. ‘Area boys’ grabbed me and told police, ‘See the boy.’ That’s how I was arrested.”
He recounted spending a week in a cell at the Amukoko Police Station before being transferred to prison, where his suffering intensified.
“They locked me with four elderly men I didn’t know. The ‘area boys’ claimed I destroyed property and stole phones. I told them I was just coming from work, but they didn’t listen,”he said.
In Kirikiri prison, he faced what he described as a dehumanising routine, cleaning human waste daily, without dignity or support.
“Because I had no money to give to the wardens, they made me clean faeces every day. I was in hell.”
Despite the ordeal, Quadri remains resilient and hopeful. He expressed his gratitude to Nigerians, who supported him financially and emotionally during and after his imprisonment.
“I want to thank Nigerians. God will bless them. People that are blessing me, God will not forget them too,” he said.
Now back home and free, Quadri said he was committed to turning his life around.
“I’m ready to go back to school. I want to become a better person. I want to leave the area because people ‘have put an eye on my body (know me),” Quadri concluded.
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