Photo: CHSR at the media briefing
By: Mandy Park
Rights group, Centre for Human and Socio-Economic Rights (CHSR) has condemned outrightly, what it described as the “criminalisation of peaceful protest” and an alleged attempt by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Moshood Jimoh, to distort facts surrounding the illegal demolitions, forced evictions, and killings across Lagos state.
This is as the group called for independent investigation to unravel the truth.
Addressing journalists at a press conference on Monday in Lagos, CHSR slammed the Lagos State Police Command of abandoning neutrality and professionalism, particularly following a recent “damage control” visit by CP Jimoh to the Owode Onirin Motor Spare Parts Market.
CHSR, a registered non-governmental organisation committed to defending and promoting fundamental human and socio-economic rights in Nigeria, said it was compelled to speak out in the interest of justice, accountability, and the protection of civic space.
“Silence in the face of injustice is complicity,” the organisation declared, insisting that the suffering of demolition victims across Lagos must not be trivialised or politicised.
The group condemned the alleged intimidation, coercion, and manipulation aimed at isolating Owode Onirin traders from other demolition-affected communities that recently staged a mass protest across Lagos.
According to CHSR, the protest was against illegal demolitions, forced evictions, economic destruction, and the killing of six young men at Owode Onirin on 27 August 2025, alongside other reported deaths in similarly affected communities.
“These six young Nigerians were not statistics,” CHSR said. “They were sons, breadwinners, and victims of a brutal alliance between state actors, land grabbers, armed thugs, and compromised security operatives.”
The organisation alleged that armed police officers and hired thugs invaded the Owode Onirin Market during the demolition, unleashing violence that led to loss of lives and livelihoods.
Rejecting claims that civil society groups were outsiders or that protesters were “rented crowds,” CHSR said its involvement with the Owode Onirin community dates back nearly a year.
The group revealed that it was formally invited by the Owode Onirin Spare Parts Association following early signs of encroachment and demolition in March 2025.
Since then, CHSR said it has: “Held multiple press conferences and peaceful rallies, including visits to the Lagos State House of Assembly and also submitted formal petitions to the Lagos State Government, the Office of the Governor, the National Assembly, the Presidency, and the National Human Rights Commission”.
According to Alex Omotehinse, CHSR President, “These interventions were lawful, peaceful, documented, and transparent,” CHSR stressed, describing contrary claims by the police as “false, reckless, insulting, and dangerous.”
CHSR expressed deep concern over a press briefing convened by CP Moshood Jimoh inside the Owode market on Friday, 30 January 2026. According to the organisation, the briefing failed to address killings or provide reassurance to traumatised citizens.
Instead, CHSR alleged that the police chief selectively praised Owode traders as “law-abiding” while portraying other affected communities as troublemakers.
“This is a classic divide-and-rule strategy,” CHSR said, warning that it portrays the police as political actors rather than neutral enforcers of the law.
The group questioned why previous protests by Owode traders were protected by police, but similar protests involving broader coalitions were now being discredited.
CHSR reminded the Nigerian Police Force that peaceful protest is a constitutional right and that demolition victims are citizens, not enemies.
“When the police descend into propaganda and intimidation, they erode public trust and push society closer to chaos,” the organisation warned.
At the end of the briefing, CHSR made the following demands:
Immediate public retraction of statements allegedly made by CP Moshood Jimoh against protesters and civil society groups.
An independent investigation into the killing of the six Owode traders and other deaths linked to demolitions across Lagos
Prosecution of all individuals and accomplices involved in the killings.
An end to police interference in lawful protests and civic coalitions
Justice, compensation, and restoration for all affected communities.
The immediate removal of CP Moshood Jimoh as Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, citing alleged intolerance and lack of leadership restraint.
CHSR reaffirmed its commitment to what it described as a pro-people, pro-justice, and pro-truth agenda, insisting that intimidation or propaganda would not silence its advocacy.
“History is watching. The victims are watching. Nigerians are watching. The whole world is watching,” the organisation said.
Other speakers at the press conference included Comrade Funmi and Sulaimon Tobiloba.
