By Zikora Ibeh
I was at the Yaba Magistrate Court, where Comrades Hassan Taiwo Soweto and Dele Frank, also known as Arole Fela, are being arraigned on frivolous charges for participating in a protest against the demolitions of informal communities in Lagos State on Wednesday.
On the instruction of Comrade Hassan Taiwo Soweto (Organising Committee Member, #EndBadGovernance Movement, Lagos Chapter), I have been authorised to give a preliminary account of his ordeal since he was arrested by the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, Jimoh Moshood and his men, in what was clearly a vindictive attempt to destabilise yesterday’s protest, driven by a personal grievance against him, Soweto.
Soweto was forcibly dragged into the Lagos State House of Assembly complex by the CP’s men. Once inside, the Commissioner himself began to scream obscenities and berating him for publicly accusing the police of killing babies and innocent people. He was beaten repeatedly. Boots were used on his face. Soweto said when the CP realised that he (Soweto) had recognised him as one of his assailants, he ordered his men to remove Soweto’s clothes, blindfold him with the torn fabric, and restrain his hands.
It is instructive that the same Assembly premises to which peaceful protesters were denied access for dialogue was where the Commissioner and his men dragged Comrade Soweto to assault him.
Soweto narrated, and I quote:
“The CP began to beat me up immediately I was dragged into Alausa. When he realised I could see and recognise him among those assaulting me, he ordered his men to tear my shirt and blindfold me with it. They continued beating me until they decided to move me into a van and take me to Panti.”
He said at Panti, officers attempted to subject him to forced medical treatment. He was held down while a nurse was invited to forcibly inject him and administer medication without his consent. Soweto said he resisted, forcing the nurse to back off. He also said he warned that he would report her to her professional union if she attempted to treat him without his consent.
He said the police then attempted to compel him to write a statement. He refused, insisting on access to his lawyer.
Soweto said he was was denied access to his lawyer, his family, and members of the public who sought to see him. This explains why civil society actors who searched for him across multiple police stations yesterday were met with deliberate denial and feigned ignorance of his whereabouts, including at the CP’s office.
Realising that they were acting outside the law at Panti, the Commissioner and his men attempted a rushed arraignment. Soweto was transferred into a van and driven at breakneck speed to the Ogba Magistrate Court. The court had already closed, despite their plea that he be arraigned regardless of the time.
They returned him to Panti.
Soweto has confirmed that during the assault, the police broke his eyeglasses, leaving him partially blind. His sneakers were also seized. He was subsequently arraigned at the Yaba Magistrate Court without footwear and in his underwear.
I have also been informed by Soweto that while assaulting him, the police named me as another target for brutality, referencing my engagement at the Lagos State House of Assembly on January 15, 2026, where I challenged the illegal demolitions in Makoko and refused intimidation by police officers and the DPO attached to the Assembly axis. They described my attire and the glasses I wore yesterday, repeatedly expressing regret that they had not abducted me during the chaos they deliberately engineered, stating that they would have dealt with me as well.
For the record, the EndBadGovernance Movement, Lagos Chapter, previously secured a court victory in 2025 against the Lagos State Commissioner of Police for his role in brutalising and torturing peaceful protesters who commemorated the fourth anniversary of the EndSARS massacre at the Lekki Tollgate. A judgment of ₦10 million was awarded to the victims. The Commissioner and his men have yet to comply with that ruling.
This background offers critical insight into the targeted nature of the attack on Comrade Soweto.
On a lighter note, while confined in the cell, Comrade Arole Fela, who bears a striking resemblance to the legendary Afrobeat musician, treated fellow detainees to music and spirited gyration. The police officers, unfortunately for them, could only watch from outside. Oppression never pays. We will continue to fight back.
- Zikora Ibeh is Asst. Executive Director, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA)
