Inibehe Effiong, the lawyer to Quadri Yusuf Alabi, the teenager who regained freedom on Thursday after spending three months in detention, has condemned the police for trying to distort the truth of the case.

Effiong disclosed on Saturday that his team would seek redress and adequate compensation for Alabi. “We will also file a formal complaint with the Police Service Commission against the lawless DPO of Amukoko,” he added.

Fame found Alabi in 2023 after he stood in front of the convoy of Peter Obi, Labour Party’s candidate for the presidential election.

The teenage boy was held at the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kirikiri, Lagos State, on a trumped-up charge of armed robbery. He was discharged because there was no evidence to substantiate the allegation of armed robbery against him.

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The boy’s release came days after the news of the detention made headlines.

As many condemned his incarceration, there were controversies about his age and the reason for his arrest. His lawyer said the police misrepresented his age as 18 when he was actually younger than that.

The lawyer had also previously disclosed that two notorious street urchins from Alabi’s neighbourhood in Amukoko, abducted him in January while he was returning from work and dropped him off at the Amukoko Divisional Police Headquarters.

However, the state police command claimed that the boy was arrested “following his involvement in violent attacks, public disturbance, causing extensive damage to public and private properties, and injuries to persons” in January.

On Saturday morning, the police said violent confrontations between some youths in Amukoko on January 22 led to “widespread violence, panic and chaos” during which some innocent passersby were reported to have been robbed and injured.

The police claimed they carried out an investigation before Alabi and four others were arrested, charged in court and remanded in a correctional facility pending the outcome of legal proceedings.

In his response to the police statement, Effiong said the claim was false, misleading, laughable and ridiculous.

“It is embarrassing to see the police spread disinformation and fake news about an innocent Nigerian child,” he wrote on X.

“First, we wish to restate that Quadri is not 18 years old as mischievously parroted by the police. He is 17 as contained in his birth certificate and attested to by his mother.

“He was born on the 29th day of September, 2007.”

The lawyer stated that Alabi was not involved in street fighting, did not rob anyone and did not damage anyone’s property.

“Third, there was no time that our client was identified by any victim of the alleged crimes. The police should tell the public when and where the identification was done and the method used,” Effiong continued.

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“How was Quadri identified by the alleged victims when no identification parade was conducted as required by law, given that the alleged offences were said to have been committed at about 10 pm?

“Fourth, the police in their statement said that our client was arrested, but they failed to state who exactly arrested him and the place he was arrested. Their silence on these key points is quite revealing.

“We should also state for the records that the police had detained Quadri for about a week in the police cell before unlawfully taking him before a Magistrate for remand.”

Effiong condemned what he described as a gross act of recklessness and irresponsibility by the police.