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Peter Obi Calls for Release of 15-Year-Old Yusuf Alabi After His Unlawful Detention
There is growing outrage over the case of 15-year-old Yusuf Alabi, a supporter of Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, who has been held at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre since January this year.
Alabi gained national attention in 2023 after a viral photo showed him standing in front of Obi’s convoy during a rally in Lagos. The image became a symbol of hope for Nigerian youth, with many supporters rallying behind him.
Peter Obi, shocked by the boy’s detention, expressed his concern on social media, urging authorities to respect the rule of law. He also revealed that he had contacted lawyer Inibehe Effiong, who has been working hard to secure Alabi’s release.
Obi called on the police and government officials to operate within the law, warning against using citizens, particularly the youth, as political tools.
Effiong visited the facility where Alabi is being held and shared his findings on Facebook. After interviewing Alabi, the lawyer explained that the boy was abducted by local “area boys” in January while returning from work.
The area boys had been threatening him for not sharing the money he received after the viral photo with Obi. Effiong revealed that after the abduction, Alabi was taken to Amukoko Police Station, where he was falsely charged with armed robbery alongside four strangers.
Effiong found the charges suspicious, noting that Alabi had been wrongly accused of robbing two victims of N579,000 in cash and phones. After his investigation, Effiong concluded that Alabi is another victim of Nigeria’s flawed criminal justice system.
Activist lawyer Deji Adeyanju also reacted, mentioning how such injustices are part of the daily struggles faced by the country’s poor and helpless citizens.
TV anchor Rufai Oseni makes headlines as he speaks on fuel subsidy in Nigeria. He shared that Nigeria can have fuel subsidy without the long queues at filling stations.
“When we were still paying subsidies, there were no long queues. We were subsidising. So you can still have a subsidy regime going on, and there will be no long queues because production was close by. Dangote had it. That’s just it. That argument also falls flat.
“The biggest beneficiaries of subsidy are not Nigerians. They are crony capitalists that have big infrastructure, and they do contracts. They have been the biggest beneficiaries of the subsidy,” he said.
Lagos State Governor, Sanwo-Olu, speaks to those in the electricity sector about the usual blackouts in the state.
He speaks on ways things can change in the state and how electricity can be provided.
“We need to drop corporate egos, abandon long-standing excuses, and confront the harsh realities obstructing progress in the power sector.”
“We, state governments, used to give excuses that everything is centralised, so the Federal Government has unbundled it now. What have we done in a year and a half?” Sanwo-Olu asked.
“We take two steps forward, we go five steps backward,” he said.
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has declared Thursday, August 20, a work-free day for public servants in the state to mark the Isese Festival.
Speaking on the celebration, he said “Ìṣẹ̀ṣe is not a relic. It is a living expression of our traditions and a celebration of Yoruba spirituality as an important part of Nigeria’s cultural and religious landscape,” he said.
He added “When the drums sound in Lagos on Thursday, they answer drums in Havana, in Salvador, in Port of Spain. Fifty-five million people and counting. Lagos is not observing a local holiday. Lagos is standing at the centre of a global heritage,” Aregbe said.
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