#EndBadGovernance Raises International Petition, Demands Probe Of Police Brutality, Demolitions, Forced Evictions In Lagos

#EndBadGovernance Movement Petitions International Bodies Over Alleged Police Brutality and Forced Evictions in Lagos

February 12, 2026

The #EndBadGovernance Movement, Lagos State Chapter, has petitioned leading international human rights organisations over what it describes as escalating police brutality, land grabbing, and state-backed violent demolitions and forced evictions in Lagos State.

In an appeal addressed to Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), UN Special Rapporteurs on Torture and on Freedom of Assembly, and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), the group called for an international investigation into alleged human rights violations in the state.

The petition, signed by Comrade Adegboyega Adeniji and Comrade Blessing Osugba, urged the global community not to “look away” from what it termed state-backed abuses in Lagos.

Alleged Assault on Activist

Central to the petition is the alleged assault on human rights activist Hassan Taiwo, popularly known as Soweto, during a peaceful anti-demolition protest on January 28, 2026.

According to the group, the protest was organised to oppose “forced evictions, illegal demolitions, and land grabbing” affecting communities including Makoko, Oworoshoki, Owode-Onirin, Bariga, Ajegunle, and other waterfront and inner-city areas.

The group alleged that Soweto was violently attacked during the protest and sustained serious injuries. It claimed that medical examinations, including MRI and chest X-ray results, confirmed injuries “consistent with severe police brutality.”

The petition specifically accused the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Moshood Jimoh, of supervising the operation during which the activist was allegedly assaulted.

Broader Allegations

The movement further alleged that armed police personnel have provided protection for land grabbers while suppressing peaceful protesters.

It also claimed that more than 50 people, including women and infants, have died in incidents linked to forced evictions and land disputes across Lagos communities. The group alleged that victims were exposed to excessive tear gas, shot with live ammunition, or killed while resisting demolitions.

Describing the incidents as “extrajudicial killings, torture, and crimes against humanity,” the group argued that the reported actions violate constitutional and international human rights protections, including rights to life, peaceful assembly, freedom of expression, and protection from torture under Nigeria’s Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

Demands

In its appeal, the group called on international organisations to:

• Issue public statements condemning the alleged abuses

• Support an independent, transparent, and internationally supervised investigation

• Hold Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu politically and legally accountable for policies allegedly enabling forced evictions

• Remove, dismiss, and prosecute CP Moshood Jimoh over what it termed “command responsibility”

• Place both officials on international human rights watchlists, including travel bans and asset monitoring, pending investigations

The group stated that it is prepared to submit medical reports, eyewitness testimonies, and photographic and video evidence to national or international investigative bodies.

Authorities have yet to publicly respond to the allegations at the time of this report.