DEMAND FOR JUSTICE AFTER LAGOS POLICE SUPPRESSION OF PROTEST AGAINST UNJUST DEMOLITIONS

AN ATTACK ON ONE IS AN ATTACK ON ALL: STATE VIOLENCE, MEDICAL EVIDENCE, AND THE DEMAND FOR JUSTICE FOR COMRADE TAIWO HASSAN SOWETO

The attention of the civil society community in Nigeria and globally, socialists, the labour movement, human rights defenders, and the general public is hereby drawn to the disturbing medical findings arising from the MRI and Chest X-ray examinations conducted on Comrade Taiwo Hassan Soweto, a leading member of Democratic Socialist Movement and Organising Committee of #EndBadGovernance Movement Lagos, following his arrest and brutal assault by officers of the Lagos State Police Command on 28th January 2026.

Comrade Soweto was arrested while leading a peaceful protest to the Lagos State House of Assembly, Alausa, alongside victims of forced eviction and demolition from Makoko, Oworoshoki, Owode-Onirin, Bariga, Ajegunle, and other working-class communities facing demolition exercise and under constant threat of displacement by the Lagos State Government. The protest was a legitimate expression of resistance against state-sanctioned land grabbing, homelessness, and the violent exclusion of the urban poor.

Instead of dialogue, the response of the Lagos State government was repression.

Under the command of CP Moshood Jimoh, the Lagos State Police unleashed violence on protesters. Comrade Soweto was arrested, beaten, and subjected to physical assault so severe that he was later forced to undergo advanced medical examinations. It is alleged that CP Moshood Jimoh not only ordered the assault but personally participated in it, an allegation that raises grave questions about abuse of power, command responsibility, and impunity within the Nigeria Police Force.

The results of the MRI and Chest X-ray are now out, and they are deeply disturbing. They reveal clear indications of serious physical harm consistent with brutal assault. These findings confirm what activists and eyewitnesses have maintained from day one: Comrade Soweto was violently attacked by agents of the state for daring to stand in solidarity with the poor and oppressed.

In the coming days, the full medical results will be made public. Alongside this disclosure, concrete legal, political, and mass-action steps will be announced to ensure that this case does not join the long list of abuses swept under the carpet in Nigeria. An example must be made clear and unmistakable: holding public office is not a license for brutality, savagery, or impunity.

Comrade Taiwo Hassan Soweto is not just an individual; he is a symbol of resistance. He has sacrificed time, safety, freedom, and comfort in the struggle for working-class power, housing rights, social justice and a better society. No activist—indeed, no Nigerian—deserves to be treated like an animal by those paid with public funds to protect lives and rights.

This is not just about Soweto.

It is about Makoko.

It is about Ajegunle.

It is about every community facing eviction.

We state clearly and without ambiguity:

• CP Moshood Jimoh must be held accountable for his actions.
• There must be justice, not silence.
• Accountability, not cover-up.
• An injury to one is an injury to all.
• Drop all charges against Hassan Taiwo Soweto and Dele Frank.

Adaramoye Michael Lenin,

National Coordinator

Francis Nwapa

National Secretary

YRC email: [email protected]