Photo: Protesters and the Police at the scene
By: Nkechi Joseph
The Lagos State chapter of the #EndBadGovernance Movement has condemned what it described as a violent crackdown by the Lagos State Police Command on peaceful protesters demonstrating against forced evictions and demolitions in several low-income communities across the state.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the group accused the police, under the leadership of the Commissioner of Police, CP Fatai Jimoh, of using excessive force against unarmed citizens who gathered to protest demolitions in communities including Makoko, Oworoshoki, Owode-Onirin and Ajegunle.
The statement was signed by Comrades Oloye Adegboyega-Deniji, Blessing Osugba and Seyi Akinde, on behalf of the organising committee of the #EndBadGovernance Movement in Lagos State.
The protest, which took place on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, reportedly involved a peaceful march from the Ikeja Under-Bridge to the Lagos State House of Assembly complex in Alausa.
According to the group, demonstrators were unarmed, did not vandalise property or obstruct public infrastructure, and sought to submit petitions to lawmakers over what they described as recurring forced evictions and demolitions affecting poor and working-class residents.
The movement rejected police claims that the protest was disruptive, insisting that it was orderly and constitutionally protected. It alleged that protesters, including elderly participants, were denied access to the designated public assembly area at the House of Assembly by some lawmakers.
The statement further claimed that civil society actors at the scene, including activist Hassan Taiwo Soweto, repeatedly urged protesters to remain calm after entry into the Assembly complex was denied. According to the group, video footage from the protest shows demonstrators sitting peacefully outside the premises before police officers allegedly fired teargas canisters at the crowd.
Several protesters were said to have sustained injuries from teargas exposure and stampede-related incidents, with some reportedly hospitalised.
The group added that journalists and medical volunteers present at the protest were also affected, including Jeniffer Rita Obiora, identified as a member of the EndBadGovernance Movement’s Lagos organising committee.
The movement accused members of the Lagos State House of Assembly of failing to intervene during the incident, alleging that lawmakers remained inside the Assembly complex while police dispersed the protesters.
Addressing claims by the police that a coffin was recovered during the protest, the group said the coffin was carried symbolically to represent lives allegedly lost during demolitions, including infants.
It claimed protesters handed over the coffin peacefully to the police after being told it would be delivered to the governor.
The statement also dismissed allegations that Soweto was verbally abusive during the protest, describing the claim as false.
According to the group, Soweto consistently called for calm and compliance among protesters and was targeted for criticising what it described as the police’s repeated use of force during demolition exercises.
It alleged that his arrest was premeditated.
The movement accused the police and the Lagos State House of Assembly of distorting facts surrounding the protest and described the crackdown as an act of repression carried out with the tacit approval of elected officials.
Citing provisions of the 1999 Constitution, the group stressed that the rights to peaceful assembly, free expression and media freedom do not require police permission or legislative approval.
The #EndBadGovernance Movement also criticised the Lagos State Government over what it described as a sustained campaign of forced evictions and demolitions that disproportionately affect low-income communities.
The group made several demands, including the immediate and unconditional release of Hassan Taiwo Soweto and Dele Frank, compensation for injured protesters, the return of seized property, and an end to what it called the criminalisation of peaceful protest.
It also called for an immediate halt to demolitions allegedly carried out in violation of court orders and demanded the suspension of the Commissioner of Police over his role in the incident.
