15 CSOs Petition PSC to Probe Lagos CP over Alleged Assault on Activist

Lagos CP, Jimoh Moshood

A coalition of civil society organisations has asked the Police Service Commission to investigate the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Jimoh Moshood, over allegations of abduction, torture and unlawful detention of activist Hassan Taiwo Soweto during a protest in January.

In a petition dated March 9, 2026, the groups alleged that Moshood ordered officers to disperse protesters with tear gas and later supervised the arrest and assault of Soweto during a demonstration held on January 28.

The petition was signed by 15 organisations, including the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, Justice and Empowerment Initiatives, Take It Back Movement, the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, and the Joint Action Front, among others.

According to the petitioners, the protest drew more than 5,000 participants from communities including Makoko, Owode Onirin, Oworonshoki, and Ajegunle, and was organised to demand an end to forced evictions and demolitions in parts of Lagos State.

They alleged that although the protest was peaceful, police officers fired tear gas at the crowd near the Lagos State House of Assembly complex in Alausa, injuring at least two protesters and a passer-by.

One of the injured protesters, Kafayat Muftaudeen, was reportedly hospitalised for seven days at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital after being struck by a tear-gas canister.

The coalition also claimed that Soweto was arrested at the protest venue and dragged into the Assembly complex, where he was allegedly blindfolded, handcuffed and beaten by several officers.

Citing a medical report from Cityview Hospital in Ogba, Lagos, dated January 29, 2026, the petitioners said the activist sustained injuries consistent with blunt-force trauma, including bruises, abrasions and a hematoma near the mouth.

They further alleged that repeated kicks aggravated a previous lumbar condition, leaving Soweto with severe pain while walking, bending or sitting. According to the petition, he has since been undergoing weekly physiotherapy sessions involving cryotherapy, TENS therapy and lumbar stabilisation exercises.

The organisations also claimed that while Soweto was detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department in Panti, he was denied access to his lawyer and family members.

They urged the PSC to institute an independent investigation into the allegations and invite Moshood and other officers involved to respond. The groups also asked the commission to suspend any consideration of the commissioner’s promotion pending the outcome of the probe.

Moshood is reportedly among senior officers being considered for elevation to the rank of Assistant Inspector-General of Police.

Responding to the allegations in an earlier interview, Moshood denied supervising any assault on the activist.

“I don’t have any reason whatsoever to brutalise Taiwo Hassan and Dele Frank. As he has said that I, as Commissioner of Police, supervised his being beaten during the protest, it’s not correct. That is not true. I was not part of even when he was arrested,” he said.

Other signatories to the petition include the Movement for the Transformation of Nigeria, Nigeria Patriotic Front Movement, #EndBadGovernance Movement (Lagos State), the Centre for Human and Socio-Economic Rights, Activista Nigeria, Voice of the Masses and Support for Credible Leadership, the Federation of Informal Workers of Nigeria (FCT Chapter), the United Campaign Against Anti-People Policies, and the Revolutionary Socialist Movement.