Lagos Police Teargas Residents Protesting Mass Demolitions at State Assembly

Lagos State Police operatives today, January 28, 2026, fired teargas canisters to disperse hundreds of residents protesting ongoing mass demolitions across several waterfront and informal communities. The protesters, who had marched from Ikeja Underbridge to the House of Assembly complex in Alausa, accused the state government of rendering thousands homeless without consultation or compensation.

The demonstration, organized by the Coalition Against Demolition and Forced Eviction, involved residents from Makoko, Owode Onirin, Oworonshoki, Otumara, and Baba-Ijora. Carrying placards with inscriptions such as “Save Our Souls” and “Halt the Demolitions,” the protesters demanded an audience with lawmakers to address what they termed “illegal” land grabs disguised as urban development.

Tensions flared at approximately 1:15 p.m. when police officers, led by Commissioner of Police Moshood Jimoh, blocked the entrance to the Assembly. After a brief and heated exchange with three lawmakers who briefly addressed the crowd, the legislators withdrew. Minutes later, security forces began firing teargas and, according to several eyewitness accounts, gunshots into the air to scatter the crowd.

The chaotic dispersal resulted in several injuries:

• Casualties: Multiple protesters, including elderly women, sustained injuries while fleeing. One woman was reportedly rushed to Lagoon Hospital due to the effects of the gas.

• Arrests: Activist Hassan Soweto, a leader of the protest, was reportedly seized by officers and taken away in a police van.

• Journalists Targeted: Several media practitioners covering the event were also affected by the teargas, with some reporting that they were specifically targeted despite identifying themselves as press.

The Lagos State House of Assembly later issued a statement denying that lawmakers ordered the use of force, shifting the responsibility to the police command. They maintained that the Assembly was officially on recess and had offered to document the protesters’ grievances peacefully before the situation escalated.

These demolitions, which began in late December 2025, have reportedly displaced over 300,000 residents in Makoko alone. While the government maintains the exercise is necessary to clear illegal structures near high-tension power lines, civil society groups allege the land is being cleared for luxury real estate projects.