The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), Lagos State Branch, has demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Comrade Hassan Taiwo Soweto and other protesters arrested during a peaceful demonstration at the Lagos State House of Assembly.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, the rights group said the protesters were exercising their fundamental rights to freedom of association and expression when they were dispersed by the police.
According to the CDHR, Comrade Soweto a leading member of the Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM) and spokesperson of the #EndBadGovernance Movement in Lagos was arrested alongside other demonstrators after police operatives allegedly teargassed and forcefully broke up the protest at the Assembly complex.
The protest, the group said, was organised to register complaints and show solidarity with communities affected by what it described as unjust demolition of houses and forceful evictions in parts of Lagos. The affected communities include Makoko, Oworonshoki and Owode Onirin.
The CDHR accused state authorities of using official power to dispossess residents, particularly the urban poor, of their lands, leading to displacement and hardship.
“The protesters were out to solidarise with all communities facing forceful eviction and displacement in Lagos State,” the statement read, adding that such actions violate citizens’ rights and dignity.
The human rights group called on the Lagos State Government to halt what it described as the repression of peaceful dissent and appealed directly to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to address the plight of affected residents.
“Sanwo-Olu should let the poor masses breathe,” the CDHR said.
