Lagos State Police Must End Continued Disobedience of Court Order and Release the Property of January 28, 2026 Anti-Demolition Protesters Now!
The Ruling Has Been Delivered Since May 8, 2026 by Magistrate Court Yaba as Nigerian Police Continue Violation for Over 3 Months
The Youth Rights Campaign (YRC) condemn the continued illegal seizure of protesters’ property by the Lagos Police Command during their brutal repression of a mass protest on January 28, 2026 against the unjust demolition exercise and forced evictions in Makoko, Oworonshoki, Owode-Onirin and other poor people communities by the Lagos State Government.
The ruling ordering the Police to immediately release the property which includes DJ equipment, sound system, laptop computer, generator, First Aid box, and other essential items has been delivered since May 8, 2026 by Magistrate Court Yaba. Well over three months after, the Police, who lost their opposition to the application for the release of the items in court, have employed different bureaucratic subterfuge to disobey the order. This is a clear case of contempt of court.
For instance, the Police who were represented in court when the Magistrate gave the order would later claim that they had to confirm the authenticity of the same order when a certified true copy was served on them by the lawyers of the protesters. In any case, the Police have since received the confirmation of the order from the Chief Registrar of the court, yet they have refused to release the property.
We hereby call on the Commissioner of Police Lagos State and the Deputy Commissioner of Police State CID Panti Yaba in whose care the seized items are kept to halt the continued disobedience of the court order and immediately release the items.
We further maintain that the continued detention of the property is not only unlawful and a contempt of court but also wicked and inhuman. By their action, the police have deprived the DJ, for instance, his livelihood for about 7 months and further subjected him and his family into a deeper hardship, despite not committing any crime.
It should be recalled that the January 28 protest, which was peaceful, was violently disrupted by the police. Teargas canisters were bestially fired at protesters and passersby, leading to multiple injuries and hospitalizations. In the course of the crackdown, one of the leaders of the protesters, Hassan Taiwo Soweto, was brutalised by the police. Since January 29, he has been standing trial along with Dele Frank on frivolous charges at the Magistrate Court Yaba. The next adjourned date is August 31, 2026
Adaramoye Michael Lenin
National Coordinator YRC
Francis Nwapa
National Secretary, YRC
YRC email: [email protected]