Lagos Demolition, Forced Eviction: CACOL Seeks Immediate, Unconditional Release Of All Detained Protesters

LAGOS – The Centre for Anti-Corrup­tion and Open Leadership (CACOL) has condemned the recent violent attacks and ar­rests of peaceful protesters demanding entry into the La­gos State House of Assembly in Alausa, Ikeja, who were al­legedly met with gunfire and aggressive police action on Wednesday, leaving several people injured, with blood on parts of the road.

CACOL, in a statement signed by Tola Oresanwo, its Director, Administration and Programmes, on behalf of the chairman, Debo Ade­niran, noted that the protest by the Coalition Against Dem­olition, Forced Eviction, Land Grabbing, and Displacement, against the perennial threat of forced evictions and dem­olition of people’s homes and livelihoods, was a legitimate and peaceful exercise of the fundamental right to freedom of assembly and expression as enshrined in Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and numerous international human rights instruments to which Nigeria is a signatory.

It stressed: “We at CACOL hereby demand the immediate and unconditional release of all detained individuals, most notably the prominent activist and youth leader, Comrade Hassan Soweto.