A civil society activist, Hassan Taiwo Soweto, has alleged that he was assaulted and tortured by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Jimoh Moshood, following his participation in a protest against demolitions of informal communities in Lagos State on Wednesday, January 28, 2026.
Soweto and another activist, Dele Frank, also known as Arole Fela, were subsequently arraigned at the Yaba Magistrate Court on charges of conspiracy to commit felony. They were, however, granted bail on liberal terms.
According to a statement by Zikora Ibeh, Assistant Executive Director of Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, Soweto was forcibly dragged into the Lagos State House of Assembly complex by the Commissioner’s men.
Ibeh, who said he was authorized by Soweto to give a preliminary account of the ordeal, alleged that once inside the Assembly complex, the Commissioner began to assault Soweto, screaming obscenities and berating him for publicly accusing the police of killing innocent people.
“The CP began to beat me up immediately I was dragged into Alausa. When he realized I could see and recognized 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,” Soweto was quoted as saying.
On arrival at Panti police station, officers attempted to subject Soweto to forced medical treatment, with a nurse invited to forcibly inject him and administer medication without his consent.
Soweto reportedly resisted, forcing the nurse to back off, and warned that he would report her to her professional union if she attempted to treat him without consent.
The statement alleged that the police then attempted to compel Soweto to write a statement, which he refused, insisting on access to his lawyer.
On the express instruction of the Commissioner of Police, Soweto was denied access to his lawyer, his family, and members of the public who sought to see him, according to the statement.
Ibeh said this explained why civil society actors who searched for him across multiple police stations were met with deliberate denial and feigned ignorance of his whereabouts, including at the Commissioner’s office.
According to the statement, realizing they were acting outside the law at Panti, the Commissioner and his men attempted a rushed arraignment, transferring Soweto into a van and driving at breakneck speed to the Ogba Magistrate Court, which had already closed.
Soweto confirmed that during the assault, the police broke his eyeglasses, leaving him partially blind, and seized his sneakers, according to the statement.
He was subsequently arraigned at the Yaba Magistrate Court without footwear and in his underwear, Ibeh alleged.
The statement noted that the EndBadGovernance Movement, Lagos Chapter, previously secured a court victory in 2025 against the Lagos State Commissioner of Police for his role in brutalizing and torturing peaceful protesters who commemorated the fourth anniversary of the EndSARS massacre at the Lekki Tollgate.
A judgment of N10 million was awarded to the victims, but the Commissioner and his men have yet to comply with that ruling, according to the statement.
The protest on January 28 was against ongoing demolitions in Lagos waterfront communities, including Makoko, Oko Agbon, and Sogunro, which have displaced thousands of residents.