The protest was organised by residents and victims of recent demolitions in communities including Makoko, Oworonshoki, Owode Onirin, Ajegunle and others.
The Solidarity Network for Workers’ Rights (SNWR) has demanded the immediate release of activist Hassan Taiwo Soweto and other protesters arrested during a demonstration against forced evictions and demolitions in Makoko and other communities in Lagos State.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, SNWR condemned the arrest of Soweto, spokesperson for the #EndBadGovernance Movement in Lagos, alongside other demonstrators during the peaceful protest at the Lagos State House of Assembly.
The protest was organised by residents and victims of recent demolitions in communities including Makoko, Oworonshoki, Owode Onirin, Ajegunle and others.
The group condemned the security operatives' response to the protest with brutal force, and the firing of live ammunition and teargas on the demonstrators.
Some of the protesters sustained gunshot injuries in their legs, while a woman was separated from her baby amid the chaos.
“The protest was met with brutal state repression,” the group said, accusing the Lagos State Government of using security agencies to silence residents protesting the loss of their homes and livelihoods.
SNWR noted that affected residents, mostly workers, traders and low-income earners, had previously appealed to the state government through press conferences and public statements to halt demolitions and engage with communities.
It described the demolitions as a pattern of displacing the poor to make way for private real estate developments, often without adequate notice, compensation or resettlement.
“The state is acting as an enforcer for land grabbers and estate profiteers, violently clearing poor communities in the name of development,” the group added.
SNWR listed four key demands, including the release of all arrested protesters, an immediate halt to demolitions and forced evictions across Lagos, compensation and resettlement for affected residents, and an end to police repression of peaceful protests.
The group also appealed to labour unions and civil society organizations to support the protests and mobilise against what it described as policies that prioritise private profit over the welfare of the poor.
Similarly, activist Francis Nwapa condemned the use of live bullets on the protesters, describing it as “class violence” and a violation of fundamental rights.
Nwapa, National Secretary of the Youth Rights Campaign, called for the immediate and unconditional release of Soweto and all other detained protesters.
He warned that continued repression could fuel wider public anger, referencing past nationwide protests against police brutality.
Nwapa cited provisions of the Nigerian Constitution guaranteeing the rights to property, peaceful assembly, and social justice, as well as Nigeria’s obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which protects the rights to property and freedom of assembly.
“I demand the immediate and unconditional release of Hassan Taiwo Soweto, National Mobilization Officer of the Youth Rights Campaign, and all others arrested during the peaceful protest at Government House, Alausa,” Nwapa said.
“The state must not provoke another round of #EndSARS through repression and high-handedness.”
“Homes before profit. Public housing, community-led urban planning, an end to forced evictions, and respect for the right to protest,” he said.
“The poor are not criminals; they are citizens. Release the arrested now, stop the shootings, and uphold the Constitution.”