Lagos Police Vow Prosecution After Anti-Demolition Protest Turns Controversial
Korede Abdullah 
LAGOS, Nigeria – Lagos police vow to prosecute protest organisers after a demonstration against waterfront demolitions triggers sharp disputes over crowd control and civil liberties.
The Lagos State Police Command says it will charge two protest leaders following a demonstration by waterfront residents and civil society groups opposing ongoing demolitions by the state government.
In a statement posted on X on Wednesday, police spokesperson Abimbola Adebisi says protesters blocked Awolowo Way near the Lagos State House of Assembly for more than six hours, disrupting traffic, emergency access and economic activities.
“The protest caused serious disturbance of public peace and obstruction of a major highway,” Adebisi says, adding that demonstrators allegedly carried a coffin and used loudspeakers to intimidate motorists and pedestrians.
Police allege that activist Taiwo Hassan, popularly known as “Soweto”, instructed protesters to sit on the road, prompting officers to deploy teargas to disperse the crowd. The command insists it used “minimum force” and recorded no injuries.
Hassan and fellow organiser Dele Frank are arrested on allegations of conspiracy, inciting public disorder and obstructing traffic. Police also recover a Toyota Canta vehicle and a coffin, according to the statement.
However, civil society organisations and eyewitnesses strongly dispute the police account, describing the protest as peaceful until officers intervened.
Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) condemn what it calls “violent, unlawful and deeply reprehensible” police actions.
“Officers fired teargas directly at unarmed protesters, including elderly people,” CAPPA says, adding that panic and injuries followed.
The group reports that journalist Oluwaferanmi Oladipupo and medical professional Jennifer Rita Obiora are hospitalised after teargas exposure.
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