Nigeria Solidarity

Trial of Makoko protesters – We Remain Undaunted

We Risk Jail Term for Daring to Stop State-Backed Theft of Poor People’s Land but We Remain Undaunted.

On Friday, 24 April 2026, it would be the third time that I and Dele Frank (Arole Fela) would be appearing in court to stand trial on criminal charges.

By H.T Soweto

We are being tried on a five-count charge bordering on conduct likely to cause breach of public peace amongst others. If found guilty, we both are looking at a few years behind bars. But we remain undaunted.

This is because the only reason why we are being subjected to this sham trial is our role in a peaceful protest on January 28 2026 which successfully stopped the Lagos state government from forcibly evicting poor people from their ancestral lands in Makoko in order to make way for the rich and powerful elite.

A Protest that Stopped the Bulldozers

The sham trial, which started on Thursday 29 January 2026 following our arrest on January 28, is the clearest indication yet of how much the anti-eviction protest successfully pushed back the Lagos state government and the bevy of land grabbers in their agenda to wipe off the people of Makoko from the face of the earth.

On Thursday 28 January 2026, over 5000 residents of Makoko, Sogunro, Iwaya, Oko Agbon, Otumara, Oworonshoki, Ajegunle and Owode Onirin marched to the Lagos state House of Assembly. The peaceful march was organized by the Coalition Against Demolition, Landgrabbing and Forced Evictions in Lagos state which members of the Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM) and the #EndBadGovernance Movement Lagos state helped set up in January as news of a renewed push to demolish and evict residents of Makoko filtered in.

Makoko is a waterfront community in Lagos state that has been in existence for more than a hundred years. The traditional occupation of the Makoko people, numbering over 300, 000, is fishing. Indeed, Makoko is widely celebrated as the “Venice of Africa” due to its iconic wooden homes, schools, and churches perched on stilts over the Lagos Lagoon. It is Africa’s example of how indigenous communities successfully live and interact with nature.

However, instead of supporting this highly resourceful community with public infrastructures like pipe borne water and sanitation, the priority of the Lagos state government has always been to try to evict them in order to redevelop the community into a luxurious estate for the rich. The people of Makoko have historically resisted this agenda politically and legally. Indeed, there is a litany of court orders and judgements in favour of the Makoko people from the year 2012 till now – none of which the Lagos state government has respected

On December 23 last year, using public safety as an excuse, the Lagos state government sent in marsh buggies (amphibious bulldozers) into Makoko and so began a demolition that nearly wiped off the entire community. Residents described waking up on that day to a low metallic rumble as the amphibious monsters crawled over the lagoon to begin pulling down one wooden house after another. Because the demolition started around the yuletide, it was weeks before it became public knowledge by which time at least 10, 000 residents had lost their homes. In the days that followed, heart wrenching scenes of homeless residents including pregnant women and babies living inside canoes floating on the lagoon filled social media further adding to the outrage.

The state government also sent in trigger happy policemen to crush any resistance. The method the police employed was especially brutal as it involved firing tear gas indiscriminately into closely-built wooden homes without advance warning. Many only survived by plunging into the lagoon. After a few days, 12 Makoko residents lay dead due to tear gas inhalation. This includes a 70- year-old widow, Ms. Albertine Ojadikluno and two infants, Morenikeji Olasupo and Epiphany Kpenassou Adingban.

Picture at demonstration of baby killed during demolition of Makoko

The protest of January 28 carried all the rage of the losses and pain of Makoko people at the hands of the police. Yet protesters were peaceful and orderly despite frequent provocation by the police who had refused to accept a notification letter for the protest the day before and only grudgingly allowed the march to kick off because of the threat of lawsuit by a prominent lawyer supporting the movement. However, as the march got to the Lagos State House of Assembly, heavily armed policemen led by the former commissioner, Jimoh Olohundare Moshood, barricaded the entrance and asked protesters to turn back. This led to altercations followed by firing of teargas. By the time the smoke cleared, several protesters were injured at least two whom had to be hospitalized.

Myself and Dele Frank were subsequently arrested. Upon my arrest and while in police custody, I was subjected to a cruel beating, brutalization and torture which has now left me with a debilitating spinal injury that I continue to nurse almost three months after the incident.

But so successful was the protest and so severe was the backlash that followed its violent dispersal that the next few days saw the Lagos state government scrambling to regain the initiative and placate the people. Hence on 3^rd February 2026, the Lagos State House of Assembly announced the suspension of demolition in Makoko. The assembly, which had ignored previous entreaties by the community to intervene in the situation, also agreed to meet with their representatives to discuss a solution.

Stalemate

Since then, a condition of stalemate has been established in the situation. For instance, while it continues to insist that the Makoko people could not be allowed to remain where they have called home for a century, the state lacks the confidence to move in bulldozers and the police as it did in December last year due to fear of another round of protest.

Indeed, on 11 March 2026, the Lagos State House of Assembly, after its so-called consultation with the community, recommended the relocation of Makoko 60 kilometers away to Agbowa in the inland area of Epe Local Government Area. This was swiftly rejected by the people who said at no point did they ask to be relocated during their engagement with the House of Assembly. But to enforce this recommendation has become a tough choice for the Lagos State Government because of the memory of January 28.

Unable to employ outright force, the Lagos state government has instead been relying on its agents, comprising one Tomori, a notorious landgrabber, and the Oloto family, to sow division and intimidate some traditional chiefs in the community to support the government plan of relocation. But the community has remained firm even as they continued to mobilize against this subterfuge through public meetings, press conferences and rallies.

Saving Makoko

The struggle against the anti-poor agenda to demolish Makoko has been on for decades and has passed through several phases. The struggle itself borders on a corrupt and neo-colonial capitalist elite which respects neither heritage nor people’s welfare in its rapacious agenda to steal and rob. It shows how the capitalist elite do not care about any ethics or values. Their singular interest is the profit they hope to make from capturing prime estate on the waterfront and building shiny condominiums, malls, luxurious resort etc.

Otherwise, Makoko, an iconic water city, is one of Africa’s still-surviving cultural and architectural heritage that ought to be preserved. Being predominantly fisherfolks, Makoko people’s way of life is tied to the Lagoon so evicting them is equal to obliterating their history and existence as a people. In the early 19th century when the first generation of the residents got to the shore of the lagoon, the area that is now called Makoko was a stretch of marshland that no one could live in. It took decades of human activities including sand filling by the poor inhabitants for the land to rise around the shore to form what is now called Makoko and which the Lagos state government and the rich property developers now see as a prime estate worth grabbing. As a result, and quite rightly, Makoko people consider the plan to evict and replace them with the rich and powerful elite as a cruel injustice.

But after over a century of existence and in the absence of government support, it is worth noting that Makoko has also become a big urban slum with at least 300, 000 residents crammed into small space around and on the lagoon. Much of the housing units are wooden structures supported by stilts with transportation being mainly by wooden boats scurrying across the foul-smelling black-odorous waters. This has inevitably raised concerns around sanitation, waste disposal, public health and safety. Obviously, these are problems that cannot be ignored but they cannot be solved by forceful eviction. The 300, 000 Makoko residents are poor and therefore unable to afford to rent or own a house elsewhere in the city. In the context of a severe housing crisis in Lagos state wherein there is a shortage of at least 34 million housing units, evicting 300, 000 people in Makoko could lead to a major social and humanitarian crisis while compromising security and public safety.

The only sensible and humane way out is for a plan of development that can allow the Makoko to be developed and regenerated but with the original inhabitants not losing their homes, livelihood and way of life. Such a plan if combined with a public-funded programme to build affordable homes to plug the housing deficit across Lagos state can gradually reduce the numbers of people who are forced to live in slums like Makoko, Ajegunle and other communities because they have no choice. This is not something that is beyond the means of Lagos State – a city whose economy would be considered the fifth largest on the continent if it were a country on its own. It is only capitalism and greed and the profit interest of corrupt politicians and real estate developers that is making it impossible.

The UN is bankrolling Human Displacement in Nigeria

Indeed, it was the Makoko people themselves who proposed such a plan of development in 2020 after several years of resisting the agenda of the government to forcibly evict them. In 2020, they proposed a plan called the “Water City Project” that would allow the Lagos state government to modernize the area but without disrupting the livelihood and way of life of the inhabitants who would have guaranteed tenureship and therefore can continue to live in the area unless they voluntarily wish otherwise.

Soon after, the plan got the support of the United Nations which then decided to support the Lagos state government with about $8 million to implement the project. The project was meant to regenerate Makoko without forced eviction. But the demolition carried out from December 23^rd 2025 until early this year before it was stopped by the January 28 protest had nothing in bearing with the original intent of the water city project. Rather the aim of the demolition was to wipe off the entire people of Makoko from the face of the earth so their land can be available to be grabbed by corrupt politicians and officials of the Lagos state government, real estate developers and the rich elite.

Interestingly, the United Nations agencies supporting the project (UN Habitat, UNDP etc.) have not publicly spoken against the actions of the Lagos state government despite it been a violation of several court orders/judgements and causing human displacement and enormous suffering. Neither is it on record that they have withdrawn support for the crudely perverted “water city project” of the Lagos state government despite the 12 precious lives lost in the process of the illegal demolition.

Epiphany Kpenassou Adingban, one of the two infants who died during the demolition in Makoko, was five days old when she choked from tear gas fumes fired by police men sent by the Lagos state government. The tragic irony of this is that a UN whose Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, regularly shed tears over the massacre and forced evictions being carried out by Israel in Gaza and the occupied territories is bankrolling something similar in Nigeria.

Next Steps

The January 28 protest is the only reason over 300, 000 Makoko residents still have a roof over their heads. The struggle is a brilliant example of what is possible when working class and poor communities come together to fight.

Soweto speaking outside the Court on 11 March 2026

However, what has been won so far is only a minor concession compared to what needs to be done to ensure that the community is saved. But a real concession will only happen if the community continue to stick together and fight, with the support of left and civil society organizations and the labour movement. International solidarity would also be vital at this stage to rekindle the hope of the community and expose the role of the UN and other imperialist institutions in the tragic situation that they now face.

What all these again prove is the urgent need for a Socialist alternative. Naturally it should be deemed ridiculous if not insane that in the 21^st century, the only way to carry out modernization and development is through forced eviction and human displacement. But right now, we live in an irrational capitalist society and such is the value that the system places on human life. The struggle to save Makoko will only fully win when we successfully rid Nigeria of capitalism and enthrone a workers and poor peoples government armed with a Socialist programme of development based on human needs and not profit.

SOLIDARITY IN COURT: THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES

DROP TRUMPED-UP CHARGES AGAINST TAIWO HASSAN SOWETO AND DELE FRANK

Today, 11th March 2026, members and collaborators of the #EndBadGovernance Lagos Movement were present at Court 2 of the Yaba Magistrate Court to stand in firm solidarity with Hassan Taiwo Soweto and Dele Frank (Arole Fela), who are facing trial over mass protest against unjust demolitions and forced evictions on January 28, 2026.

It should be recalled that Soweto was not just arrested but was also brutally tortured by the Lagos Commissioner of Police (CP) Moshood Jimoh and his men for playing a leading role in the struggle to defend the oppressed communities.

Due to the absence of the 2nd defendant, Dele Frank, on health grounds, the presiding magistrate adjourned the case to 24th April 2026.

Solidarity protest outside Yaba Magistrate Court

Shockingly, despite the defence informing the court that the 2nd defendant was ill and unable to appear physically, the prosecuting lawyer desperately urged the presiding magistrate to issue a bench warrant for his arrest—even while he is on his sick bed. This disturbing move further underscores that this trial is not about any crime committed by the defendants, but rather a vindictive attempt to punish dissent and intimidate activists who are raising legitimate demands.

It is also a clear attempt to divert attention from the growing outcry over the connivance between the Lagos State Government and land grabbers, who are forcibly evicting poor communities from their homes in order to hand over the land to big business sharks for the construction of multi-billion-naira luxury homes for the rich. We strongly condemn this persecution.

Soweto speaking outside Yaba Magistrate Court

We therefore renew our demand for the immediate investigation, removal and prosecution of CP Moshood Jimoh for his role in the brutalization of activists and residents. We also call on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to immediately halt the violent eviction of working-class communities across Lagos.

The presence of activists and residents of Makoko, whose community is at the centre of January 28 protest, in court today sends a clear message: we will not abandon our own. We remain resolute in standing with Soweto, Arole Fela, and all communities facing repression and displacement. The struggle for justice, dignity and democratic rights will continue.

An injury to one is an injury to all. Solidarity!

Michael Adaramoye Lenin

National Coordinator

Francis Nwapa

National Secretary

Email: yrccampaigns@gmail.com

POWER SECTOR CRISIS DEEPENS AS COMMUNITIES ARE THROWN INTO A GREATER DARKNESS

FOR RENATIONALISATION AND DEMOCRATIC MANANGEMENT OF ELECTRICITY

In the last two months, gas producers and power generation companies have technically embarked on bosses’ strike. As a result, supply of gas to power plants has reduced considerably, rendering 16 out of the 33 power plants redundant at a stage. If it were electricity workers that embarked on strike over welfare issues, the government would have deplored security agents to harass workers and labour leaders.

By Chinedu Bosah

The resultant effect is widespread darkness across the country as the power supply on some days from its peak of 4500MW to 2,800MW. The supply had collapsed 3 weeks before the start of US/Israeli attack on Iran and its global disruption on gas and crude oil supply. This is because of debt (about N2 trillion) the multinational gas companies claim they were owed while GENCOs are also making a claim of 6.3 trillion something the government disputed, putting its own figure at N4 trillion. Aside from the volatility of the energy market, Nigeria energy crises remain unresolved. In the midst of gas crisis, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority has increased the price of natural gas for power generation from $2.13 to $2.18 MMBtu in order to guarantee more profit to the Nigerian government and gas companies.

Nigeria is 16th in the global ranking of gas production, with annual production of 7 billion cubic feet and around 200 trillion cubic feet of gas reserve. Nigeria’s gas reserve and production capacity has hugely benefited and profited the multinational gas companies at the expense of Nigerian people. Only CAPITALISM can convert abundance into scarcity, affordability into luxury and stability into crises. For instance, in the Liquefied Natural Gas Limited Joint Venture, the NNPC Company Ltd has 49% share but does not control the company because a combination of shares of Shell Gas (25%), Total Energies LNG (15%) and Eni (10.4%) gives a cartel of these multinational companies the majority shareholding control of 51%. So, it is the multinational companies, with the collaboration of the government, that control prices of gas to the detriment of Nigerian working masses. Besides, this explains why gas sold to power plants is expensive despite being a resource collectively owned by Nigerian people- a case of being thirsty while in the water!

By and large, the power sector value chain is in crisis, gas supply is inadequate and expensive, the generation companies is generating between 2800MW and 4500MW which is far less than the installed capacity (14,000MW), transmission is doing poorly on account of aged lines and infrastructure while the distribution companies fail to invest in basic facilities and infrastructure but rather brazenly extort and exploit consumers. The low power generation is bad enough, but the situation has been made worse by the distribution companies which criminally reject electricity load, taking smaller quantity and thereby plunge the communities into a greater darkness – this is a huge sabotage of the economy.

According to a Punch report of March 30, 2026, the GENCOs accused the DISCOs of rejecting load and only pick up power transmitted to areas where they could sell it and make more money. Joy Ogaji, the Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Power Generation Company went on to state that the gas situation was not the only problem responsible for the current low power supplies and that load rejection by DISCOs also immensely contributed to the current outages such that out of the available 7000MW, the DISCOs pick 4,000MW or less. In the midst of problems created by profit-chasing private electricity, it is the working masses that bear the brunt through widespread darkness. The pure supply of electricity has forced many businesses and households to generate their own electricity at exorbitant cost, reportedly totaling $20 billion annually on diesel and petrol generators as well as photovoltaic solar products.

All neo-liberal reforms (privatisation, commercialisation, liberalisation etc) to resolve the Nigeria power problems just like all other socio-economic problems through market economy have failed woefully. The capitalist ruling elite and their capitalist ideologues have gone full circle, languishing in the wilderness of confusion and now trading in blame-game. Some neo-liberal advocates are shamelessly demanding the privatisation of Transition Company (TCN), presenting as the solution but refusing to state the reasons GENCOs and DISCOs have failed woefully. We recognise the woeful performance of the Transmission Company. It is due to the bureaucratic and corrupt management of the company and to correct it will entail adequate investment under democratic management and control of workers/experts and consumers. Hence, privatisation of TCN will spell more doom for the sector and will consolidate and deepen the power crises.

Privatisation of the power sector was presented as the magic wand by the self-serving capitalist ruling elite but it has proved to be an opportunity for exploitation and cesspool of corruption. Since the privatisation of power sector in November 2013, electricity has become a luxury for some and darkness for many. The DISCOs are only interested in crazy/outrageous billing and fleecing people of their hard-earned money, forcing communities/customers to buy or repair transformers, buy prepaid meters etc.

The power sector is broken and in disarray despite government intervention funds. According to Daily Trust’s report of February 7, 2026, federal government has spent over N7 trillion on the power sector since 2013 with no significant result. The GENCOs are producing very little, transmission is weak and still based on old infrastructure. Four DISCOs have collapsed since the privatisation due to mismanagement and corruption, forcing government to take over the management. The power crisis continues but power companies pay huge salaries and bonuses to top officials and owners while top government officials corruptly enrich themselves. These are the only benefits of privatisation.

In response to the power problem, President Tinubu appears to have abandoned the Nigerian people as the government spent a whopping 10 billion Naira of public funds to install solar grid to Aso Rock while millions of Nigeria wallow in darkness. Many communities are plunged into darkness for days and weeks while many are subjected to unpalatable rationing of electricity that does not go beyond 2 hours daily. This is an example of how capitalist politicians throw millions of people into more poverty while enriching themselves.

We call on working people and communities to organise campaigns to demand adequate power supply and fight against high tariffs and exploitation of consumers by electricity companies. However, the real solution to the power crisis can only begin by reversing the privatisation and returning the power sector to public ownership, and invest massively in the sector. However, in order to safeguard against the repeat of the bitter experience of the old NEPA/PHCN, the sector must be placed under democratic control of workers and consumers. This will provide protection against the usual unbridled corruption and exploitation and ensure transparency and efficient management. Also importantly, the public ownership of power has to be part of a program to reverse all capitalist policies and nationalise the commanding heights of the economy under working people democratic management as a step towards tackling a myriad of socio-economic problems afflicting the country despite its huge human and material resources. While we call on workers and community people to fight for these with campaigns and mass struggles, it should be realised that working people need our own party on a socialist program to struggle for political power in order to use the resources and wealth of the country for the benefit of all.

DEMOLITIONS IN LAGOS: MAKOKO PEOPLE HOLD MASS MEETING, REJECT PLANNED RELOCATION

SPEAKERS CALL FOR UNITY OF COMMUNITY PEOPLE IN THE STRUGGLE

On 15 March 2026, the people of Makoko held a mass meeting to discuss the next line of action in the struggle against the demolition of the waterfront area of the community. About 100 people including baales (community heads), the elderly, youth, men and women attended the meeting. Members of the Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM), civil society groups like Justice for Empowerment Initiatives (JEI) and neighboring communities, which are also affected by the demolition spree of the Lagos State government, were also in attendance.

By Davy Fidel

The guest speaker was Femi Falana SAN, a foremost civil rights lawyer and activist. Other speakers include Hassan Taiwo Soweto of the DSM and #EndBadGovernance Movement Lagos and Megan Chapman of JEI, who has been working with the community people for over a decade.

*Femi Falana (SAN) speaking to the 15 March meeting*

Following the January 28 mass protest, the Lagos government was forced to stop the demolition in Makoko and the State House of Assembly asked the community to send representatives for discussion and negotiation. The community people demand a total stop to the unjust demolition and adequate compensation to the victims of the demolition that has already been carried out. Rather than being evicted, the community people want to be accommodated into any development plan that would make their living condition decent and ensure the continuation of fishing which is their major occupation.

However, it has been reported in the media what the government is planning to do is relocation of residents of Makoko and neighboring communities to Agbowa in Epe. In other words, the plan is to evict the community people and transfer the land to developers to build luxury estates for the rich including top government functionaries.

*One of baales (community heads) speaks to the 15 March meeting*

Speaker after speaker at the meeting underscored the importance of the community people staying united and fight in order to win the struggle against the forced eviction. It is also imperative for the community to be prepared to work together with genuine civil society groups whose solidarity could help strengthen their hand in the struggle. Falana assured the people that he is going to stand with them legally and politically as long as they are ready to fight while Soweto reaffirmed the continued solidarity and support of the coalition of civil society groups which helped organize the January 28 protest.

*Soweto from the #EndBadGovernance Movement Lagos and DSM speaking to the 15 March meeting*

Members of the DSM and #EndBadGovernance Movement Lagos have been very active in showing solidarity to the struggle against the latest round of demolition and forced eviction in Makoko which started in late December 2025. We have also helped build a coalition of different communities affected by demolitions beyond Makoko as well as civil society groups for a joint campaign and struggle, something that led to the January 28 protest. It should also be recalled that Soweto, along with Dele Frank, is currently standing trial because of a leading role he played in the protest.

At the meeting, 40 copies of Socialist Democracy, the paper of the DSM, which has an article on “Unjust Demolitions and Forced Evictions” were sold.

REMOVE AND PROSECUTE CSP ADETAYO AKERELE — SCRAP THE LAGOS TASKFORCE NOW!

CP JIMOH MOSHOOD’S SUPPORT FOR AKERELE SHOWS THE REIGN OF ILLEGALITY AND ATROCITY IN THE LAGOS POLICE

The Youth Rights Campaign (YRC) calls for the immediate removal, arrest and criminal prosecution of Adetayo Akerele, the notorious chairman of the Lagos State Taskforce, whose tenure has come to symbolize systematic oppression, extortion, intimidation and victimization of motorists and ordinary Lagosians. We also call for the immediate removal of Jimoh Moshood as Commissioner of Police in Lagos.

For years, Akerele has turned the Lagos Taskforce into a criminal enterprise operating under the cover of state authority. Thousands of Lagos residents have fallen victim to a well-organized extortion racket orchestrated by Akerele and his gang of operatives. Motorists and Okada riders across Lagos have repeatedly reported the same pattern: vehicles are arbitrarily seized and forcefully driven into one-way roads by Taskforce agents, only for the drivers to be falsely accused of traffic violations. These fabricated accusations are then used to extort outrageous sums ranging between ₦100,000 and ₦200,000 from innocent citizens.

This criminal scheme has become a daily business venture for Akerele and his men. Today, Lateef Adeyemo, another victim of the Lagos Taskforce criminality is languishing in Prison over an alleged traffic offence, while his vehicle remains with the police force. The reason for this is his refusal to be criminally extorted by Akerele and his men.

Even more disturbing is the use of recruited street thugs who violently intercept motorists, seize their vehicles, and drive them to the Taskforce office in Bolade, Oshodi. When victims attempt to resist these illegal seizures, Taskforce officers suddenly appear to intimidate and suppress them, completing the extortion process under the guise of law enforcement.

The Lagos Taskforce under Akerele is therefore not a traffic management body but a machinery of organized harassment and economic exploitation against the people of Lagos.

The brutality of Akerele and his men was also exposed on October 20, 2023, during the 4th anniversary commemoration of the Lekki Toll Gate shooting at the Lekki Toll Gate, where members of the #EndBadGovernance gathered to remember victims of state violence.

On that day, Akerele personally led Taskforce operatives in a brutal assault on peaceful activists. Female protesters had hands violently inserted into their genitals, while a male activist had his testicles grabbed in an act of degrading torture before several activists were thrown into the Taskforce Black Maria and transported to Panti Police Station.

This barbaric violation of human dignity eventually led to a landmark judgement by Musa Kakaki of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, which awarded ₦10 million in damages against the perpetrators — a clear legal indictment of the lawless conduct of Akerele and the Taskforce.

Yet despite this damning judgement, Akerele continues to occupy public office and preside over a unit notorious for abuse of power and routine violation of citizens’ rights.

We also condemn the support given by the Lagos Commissioner of Police, Jimoh Moshood, to the criminal conducts of Akerele and the taskforce. This shows that the atrocity goes beyond Akerele and his men; CP Moshood is an enabler of this reign of criminality and atrocity that has defined the Nigeria Police Force in Lagos State. We, therefore, reiterate our call for the immediate removal of CP Jimoh Moshood.

The Youth Rights Campaign therefore demands:

Immediate removal, arrest and criminal prosecution of CSP Adetayo Akerele for extortion, abuse of office, assault and violation of the constitutional rights of Lagos residents.
Immediate release of Lateef Adeyemo and release of his vehicle.
Immediate scrapping of the Lagos State Taskforce, a unit that has become a symbol of repression rather than public service.
A full independent investigation of all officers who served under Akerele, with those found culpable facing prosecution.
The release and compensation of all individuals unjustly jailed through the fabricated charges and corrupt practices of the Taskforce.
Immediate release of vehicles illegally impounded from motorists who committed no offence.

Michael Adaramoye Lenin

National Coordinator

Francis Nwapa

National Secretary

Email: yrccampaigns@gmail.com

A Call for Solidarity

Drop Trumped-Up Charges against Soweto and Dele Frank Now!

On March 11, 2026, Hassan Taiwo Soweto, member of the Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM) and spokesperson of #EndBadGovernance Movement Lagos, and Dele Frank (Arole Fela) are expected to appear before a magistrate court in Yaba, Lagos for the commencement of a sham trial on the trumped-up charges preferred against them by the Lagos State Police Command over their participation in a peaceful protest.

The charges include conspiracy to cause a breach of peace, threatening violence, unlawful assembly, obstructing traffic, and singing abusive songs against the police and government! We call for the dropping of these charges as the trial is an attempt to use the court to legalise brazen attacks on democratic rights and criminalise peaceful protest against anti-poor actions of the government.

It should be recalled that Soweto and Dele Frank were arrested and subsequently detained during a mass protest against unjust demolition and forced eviction of several poor peoples’ communities in Lagos on January 28, 2026. The protest was brutally repressed by the police, leading to many protesters sustaining injuries.

For playing a leading role in the protest, Soweto was specifically targeted and singled out for physical assault and severe torture by the police – an action that was directly supervised by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police Jimoh Moshood. The brutal attack caused a serious damage to his lower back something for which, since his release on bail by court on January 29, he has been undergoing a regular treatment including a weekly physiotherapy session.

In the last few years, the Lagos State Government has been on a demolition spree of markets and communities of poor people without adequate compensation and alternative provision. While the official reason for the eviction is usually public safety or non-compliance to a so-called masterplan, the real objective is to grab the land from the poor and allocate it to the rich, ruling party stalwarts and top government functionaries. In other words, the poor people are evicted from their property for the purpose of gentrification in line with the touted megacity agenda of the state government. In carrying out the eviction and demolition, police and thugs are usually deployed to unleash terror on the owners and occupiers of the targeted property, causing deaths and injuries.

The above is the background to the January 28 protest which was a joint mass action by ordinary people from many communities and markets affected by the forced eviction. The communities involved include Makoko, Oworonshoki, Owode Onirin, Ajegunle, Bariga, Otumara and Otodogbami.

*Dele Frank (Arole Fela) and Soweto (second and third from the right), their lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), in the centre along supporters after they were released on bail pending their trial.*

The arrest and the frivolous charges against Soweto are in line with the measures by the government of Bola Tinubu and the APC at all levels to stifle dissent and criminalise opposition against their anti-poor policies and actions. For instance, ahead of the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests in August 2024, the Lagos state government secretly procured a “black-market” order from the state high court against Soweto and 3 other activists which imposed restrictions on protests in the state.

Good enough, the working people, youth and activists have refused to surrender their fundamental rights to the undemocratic machination of the state government. Indeed, eleven activists including Soweto and other members of #EndBadGovernance Lagos won a legal victory through a Federal High Court judgement of July 24, 2025 which reaffirmed the fundamental rights to hold protest actions in the state and also awarded N10m as damages against the police. The activists had been unlawfully arrested and detained for holding a peaceful protest to mark the 4^th anniversary of #EndSARS massacre on October 20, 2024 in Lagos. Meanwhile, the Lagos government has filed an appeal against the judgement.

We call on trade unions, civil society and left organisations, socialists and activists, locally and internationally, to join us to resist the attempt by the police and Lagos state government to annul right to protest in the state. It is in line with this that we call for different forms of solidarity actions on or before March 11 including demonstrations and protest letters and messages to call on the Police and Lagos State Government to withdraw the frivolous charges against Soweto and Dele Frank.

By and large, we call for support for the following demands:

Withdrawal of trumped-up charges against Hassan Taiwo Soweto and Dele Frank by the Police and Lagos State Government.
A public probe of the assault, brutalization and torture of Soweto by the Commissioner of Police Jimoh Moshood and his men.
Release of all items including public address system, laptop computers, generator, first aid box, etc which were unlawfully seized by the police during the January 28, 2026 protest against forced eviction in Lagos.
Immediate end to demolition and forced eviction in Lagos and adequate compensation to the victims.
Stop attacks on democratic rights and respect rights to peaceful protest.
Reverse all anti-poor policies.

A model protest letter is below, protest letters and messages should be sent to:

The Commissioner of Police Lagos State

Email: cru@npf.gov.ng, info@nptf.gov.ng, complaint@npf.gov.ng, Tel: +234 (0) 8032569029.

Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice Lagos State

Email: info@lagosstatemoj.org, info@lagosministryofjustice.gov.ng.

Copies of protest letters should be sent to

Youth Rights Campaign (YRC)

yrccampaigns@gmail.com

Adaramoye Michael Lenin

National Coordinator,

For Youth Rights Campaign (YRC)

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Withdraw Trumped-up Charges against Hassan Taiwo Soweto and Dele Frank and End Attacks of Democratic Rights

I/We write to demand the immediate withdrawal of trumped-up charges preferred against Hassan Taiwo Soweto, spokesperson of #EndBadGovernace Movement Lagos, and Dele Frank (Arole Fela), a musician, by the Lagos State Police Command over their participation in a peaceful protest against the unjust demolition of and forced eviction of poor people from their homes by the Lagos State Government on January 28, 2026. We understand that their trial is expected to commence on March 11, 2026 at the Magistrate Court Yaba Lagos.

I/We believe that the trial is an attempt to legalise attacks on democratic rights, stifle dissent and criminalise peaceful protest. Protests are a part of the fabric of democratic rights that people have won over many years. We understand that even as recent as July 24, 2025 a Federal High Court in Lagos in a judgement against the Nigerian Police and Lagos State Government reaffirmed the fundamental rights of people to freedom of assembly including protest and indeed awarded a sum of N10million against the Nigerian police to be paid to the applicants as damages. Instructively, Hassan Taiwo Soweto was one of the applicants. The applicants had been brutally arrested and detained for holding a peaceful protest on October 20, 2024 to mark the 4^th anniversary of the #EndSars massacre. So, I/we call on the Nigerian police and the Lagos State Government to end their habitual attacks on democratic rights and respect the rights of people to peaceful protest.

I/We also condemn the brutalization and torture of Hassan Taiwo Soweto by the men of the Lagos State Police Command, inflicting him with a serious damage on his lower back, for playing a leading role in the January 28 protest. I/We find it seriously disturbing the grave allegation that the physical assault was personally supervised by the Commissioner of Police Jimoh Moshood. We demand a public probe of this bestial action of the police by an independent panel that must include the representatives of Nigerian Bar Association, Nigerian Medical Association, trade unions, civil society and media.

I/We demand immediate release of the items unlawfully seized by the police at the January 28 anti-demolition protest. These include the equipment of the DJ hired by the protesters namely public address system, laptop computer, generator, etc. Also, callously impounded was a First Aid Box. By this unlawful action, the police have heartlessly deprived the owners of the items their livelihoods since January 28

Until the above demands are met, I/We will continue to build support for the demands in the local and international media and among the millions of working people and youth, trade unions, locally and internationally, local and international human right organisations and parliamentarians of good conscience, locally and internationally.

Signed

Despite arrests and repression struggle against forced evictions will continue

Statement issued after Hassan Taiwo Soweto and Dele Frank (Arole Fela) were released on bail being arrested at the January 28 residents’ march against demolitions in Lagos waterfront communities.

The Youth Rights Campaign (YRC) confirms that Hassan Taiwo Soweto, leading member of the Democratic Socialist Movement and spokesperson of #EndBadGovernance Movement Lagos, and Dele Frank (Arole Fela) have been granted bail today, January 29, and their matter has been adjourned to March 11th, 2026.

We appreciate the overwhelming solidarity and pressure mounted by comrades, civil society organizations, and well-meaning Nigerians who demanded their immediate release.

Outside the Court House free on bail Dele Frank (Arole Fela) and Soweto (second and third from the right) and their lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), in the centre.

However, we must make it abundantly clear to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Moshood Jimoh, that the struggle against forced eviction, land grabbing, and state repression in Lagos State will continue. No amount of intimidation will silence us.

We strongly condemn the brutal assault carried out by CP Moshood Jimoh on Soweto personally. Soweto’s clothes were torn, his glasses broken, shoes seized and, while restrained, blindfolded with remnants of his torn clothes. This was the reason why, when in court today, Soweto was barefoot and in his underwear.

This attack on peaceful protesters is an attack on democracy itself and represents conduct wholly unbecoming of a senior police officer. We are however not surprised by the violent conduct of the CP. He has a long record of repression and abuse of power.

Let it be known: nothing shall discourage us. Activists and organisations involved in this campaign remain resolute and unwavering in the struggle against tyranny, forceful eviction, land grabbing, and all attempts to criminalize peaceful protest.

An injury to one is an injury to all.

The struggle continues.

Michael Adaramoye Lenin

National coordinator YRC

Francis Nwapa

National secretary

YRC email: youth_rights@yahoo.com

Protest Against Forced Eviction of Lagos Poor Repressed by Police

Release Soweto and Others Now

A protester is shot

Hassan Taiwo Soweto, a leading member of the Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM) and spokesperson of #EndBadGovernance Movement Lagos, probably with other protesters, was arrested today at the Lagos State House of Assembly. This was at a protest against the unjust demolition and forced eviction of Makoko, Oworonshoki, Owode Onirin and other poor people communities in Lagos.

The police unleashed teargas and live bullets to forcefully disperse the peaceful protesters . A protester was shot in the leg and a woman at present does not know the whereabouts of her baby as a result of the stampede.

*Soweto speaking at the January 28 protest*

The protesters were largely the victims of demolition and members of the targeted communities.

We call for the immediate and unconditional release of Soweto and others.

The government should stop the unjust demolition and adequately compensate the victims of the forced evictions.

Peluola Adewale

Organising Secretary, Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM)

Victory At Last! #EndBadGovernance Activists ‘Treason’ Trial Cancelled

Pressure forces Nigerian Government to anabdon sham trial of Adaramoye Michael Lenin and 10 other #EndBadGovernance protestors charged with treason and terrorism

Today, December 10, 2025, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court Abuja struck out the treason and terrorism charges against Adaramoye Michael Lenin and 10 others. In his ruling, Justice Emeka lamented that the prosecuting counsel had shown a lack of diligence and seriousness in the case they initiated against the protesters. Subsequently, Michael Lenin and his co-defendants, who were detained and put on trial over the August 2024 nationwide #EndBadGovenance protest against mass hunger, economic hardship and anti-poor policies of Bola Tinubu government, were acquitted. Other activists are Daniel Akande, Mosiu Sadiq Adeyemi Abiodun Abayomi, Angel Love Innocent, Bashir Bello, Nuradeen Khamis, Buhari Lawal, Opaluwa Eleojo Simeon, Suleiman Yakubu. Abdulsalam Zubairu.

Since the arraignment of the 11 #Endbadgovernance protesters on September 2, 2024, after unlawfully spending many weeks in police cells and prison, the Nigerian government had wasted public resources to sustain charges of treason and terrorism against them without being able to prosecute their own case. Rather, the police prosecutors repeatedly employed different delayed tactics and sought adjournment after adjournment. At least all of them were eventually given bail and freed from prison.

We recall that on June 25, 2025, Justice Emeka warned the prosecuting counsel to desist from further delaying the trial and expressly stated that the case would be struck out if the police further attempted to postpone the trial, following the resilient agitations of the legal representatives of the activists. The judge was actually compelled to strike out this case due to the relentless campaign of our comrades and supporters locally and internationally. Repeatedly public protests were held around the world while trade unions and civil rights organisations demanded this trial stopped. It was the same pressure that forced the government and police to abandon the trial as the police prosector was absent in court today. Left to the government and police, they were prepared to perpetually tie the treason trial around the neck of the #EndBadGovernance activists in order to serve as deterrent to further mass protests against its anti-poor policies and attacks on democratic rights.

It is fitting and instructive that the news of the court victory came when activists were again on the streets of Lagos, Ibadan and elsewhere in Nigeria to use the occasion of the December 10 World Human Rights Day to highlight and put on the front burner the demand for an immediate end to the sham trial of 11 #Endbadgovernance activists and an end to other instances of attacks on democratic rights in Nigeria. The Youth Rights Campaign (YRC) expresses a profound appreciation to all the lawyers who rendered free legal service and comrades, supporters and activists locally and internationally for their sustained pressure and unflinching support throughout the periods of arrest, detention, and trial.

We consider this a victory, not just for the 11 #Endbadgovernance activists, but also for all Nigerians desirous of a better society. This is an example that we can fight and defeat a tyrannical government like the Tinubu government. Nigerian working people and youths must continue to fight consistently against bad governance and pro-capitalist policies of the government.

The Youth Rights Campaign (YRC) demands a public apology from the Nigerian government to all acquitted #Endbadgovernance activists, return of the properties and unfreezing of the bank accounts. We also demand adequate compensation for the 11 activists and all victims of abuse during and after the #Endbadgovernance protest. We also demand the immediate freedom of all the jailed #Endbadgovernance protesters sentenced to seven years imprisonment in Borno and withdrawal of charges against anybody still on trial over the August 2024 #Endbadgovernance protest. We maintain that protest against anti-poor policies and bad governance is a democratic right and must not be criminalized.

Francis Nwapa

National Secretary

YRC email: youth_rights@yahoo.com

NUPENG AND PENGASSAN vs Dangote Face-off : Workers Have Right to a Trade Union and Decent Work

NLC and TUC Must Launch a Serious National Campaign Against Casualisation and Other Indecent Labour Practices

The Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) strongly condemns the vicious campaign aimed at criminalising the right of NUPENG and PENGASSAN to organise workers at the Dangote Refinery. This offensive by Dangote Group and its apologists is a deliberate attempt to entrench a slave-like workplace regime where exploitation thrives unchecked, something which has become a permanent feature of Dangote companies, all in the relentless pursuit of private profit.

We reject any impression that the right to unionise should apply only to public sector workers. This is a blatant distortion designed to weaken the collective power of the working class. Across Nigeria, many private sector organisations already recognise workers’ right to union membership. Indeed, many industrial unions have members only from the private sector. Unionisation in private enterprises is not a privilege but a fundamental, internationally recognised right that applies to all workers, irrespective of sector.

We also denounce the poisonous argument that seeks to compare the unionisation struggle at Dangote Refinery with that of university lecturers in private institutions. This cynical comparison aims to confuse the working class and diminish the legitimacy of trade unions in private industries. Likewise, the suggestion that PENGASSAN and NUPENG should “build its own refinery” rather than organise Dangote’s workers is diversionary and mischievous. Trade unions do not exist fundamentally to own or run capitalist industries, their mandate is to defend and advance the collective interests of workers which include, fight for decent wages, safe working conditions, and protection against exploitation.

Equally baseless is a claim that NUPENG and PENGASSAN are responsible for the collapse of Nigeria’s public refineries. The real culprits are the successive capitalist governments and their private collaborators who have looted public resources, mismanaged national assets, and destroyed public enterprises through corruption and negligence. It was through deliberate sabotage, including fraudulent turnaround maintenance projects, which public refineries were run down to justify the rise of private monopolies like Dangote Refinery. The refinery itself was established through massive state support—public subsidies, tax waivers, and concessions—ultimately serving private accumulation rather than public welfare.

The fact that the outrageous price of petrol hasn’t returned to the pre-May 29 level is an indication that the refinery was established not to guarantee an affordable fuel for mass of the working people. It is rather a monument for a profit maximisation and capitalist greed. The SPN condemns the unjust sack of 800 workers by the Dangote Refinery management and demands their immediate reinstatement with full rights to freely join NUPENG, PENGASSAN, or any trade union of their choice. We stand in full solidarity with NUPENG and PENGASSAN in their just struggle to unionise workers at the refinery.

The SPN views the concession by Dangote Refinery to reabsorb the sacked workers into Dangote Group following the strike action by PENGASSAN as an important, though partial, victory for the workers’ movement. It demonstrates that determined and organised resistance can compel even the most powerful capitalist interests to yield. However, the planned redeployment of the workers to other Dangote subsidiaries could deprive them of union membership PENGASSAN or frustrate them in workplaces unrelated to their expertise and industrial orientation. For this reason, SPN insists that this concession must not be misconstrued as a final victory but as a step in a holistic struggle against the anti-labour practices in the entire Dangote Group. Unfortunately, it appears the leaderships of PENGASSAN as well as the NLC and TUC have accepted the fate of the affected workers as eventually determined by Dangote.

This is quite unfortunate as we strongly believe that a total defeat of Dangote’s anti-labour posture would have been possible, if only the broader labour movement, led by the NLC and TUC, had thrown its full weight behind the fight with a 24-hour nationwide strike, backed by mass street protests. However, the fact that Dangote Group actually enjoyed sympathy from a section of the populace in its faceoff with PENGASSAN and NUPENG is a serious indictment on the leadership of the trade union movement in Nigeria. It is a warning to Labour that the ruling class may seek to exploit the understandable frustration of casual and unemployed workers in a struggle to further weaken the trade unions by arguing that union leaders are “privileged” at the expense of poorer workers.

This is only possible due to the leaderships of trade unions not being seen to seriously identify with, or seriously aid, the daily struggles and plights of the vast majority of the working people and youth. For instance, they have not organized or led any serious struggle against the anti-poor policies of the Tinubu government which have had devastating effects on the living standards of the vast majority. These include the removal of fuel subsidy with attendant exorbitant prices of petrol, devaluation of the naira and criminal hikes in school fees at higher institutions.

So, it is easy for the malicious propaganda of Dangote that the struggle of NUPENG and PENGASSAN, whose President also doubles as TUC President, is self-serving to strike a chord with a section of the populace. Besides, the leaderships of industrial unions like Food Unions which are supposed to cover other Dangote companies and also the NLC and TUC over the years have never led a serious campaign or struggle against the entrenched anti-labour practices of Dangote Group. There were instances where workers who wanted to join unions were sacked while trade unions leaders spinelessly looking the other way. This obviously suggests that until the current Dangote refinery face-off, the trade unions leadership had accepted that Dangote Group of Companies a no-go area for trade unions.

The SPN therefore calls on the trade union leaders to have a serious introspection and draw vital lessons from the experience of Dangote refinery struggle and be prepared henceforth to use the platforms of trade unions to consistently fight for the interest workers and other categories of working people and the poor. Specifically, the NLC, TUC and industrial unions must launch a serious nationwide campaign against casualisation, contract staffing, and other indecent labour practices at all companies and other workplaces in the country as part of struggle against attacks on democratic rights and anti-poor capitalist policies.

Bamigboye Abiodun (Abbey Trotsky)

Acting National Chairperson

Chinedu Bosah

National Secretary

E-mail: socialistpartyofnigeria@yahoo.com