Makoko protest: Court reserves ruling on seized items
Magistrate I.O. Alaka sitting at the Yaba Chief Magistrates’ Court has adjourned till May 8 the trial of activist Hassan “Soweto” Taiwo and Dele Frank, who are being prosecuted over
Magistrate I.O. Alaka sitting at the Yaba Chief Magistrates’ Court has adjourned till May 8 the trial of activist Hassan “Soweto” Taiwo and Dele Frank, who are being prosecuted over their alleged roles in the January 28 protest against demolitions in Makoko, Lagos.
She also reserved ruling on an application seeking the release of items seized during the demonstration.
The case arose from the protest staged by residents and activists against the Lagos State Government’s demolition exercise in Makoko and other waterfront communities. The defendants are facing charges linked to the protest, while they insist they were lawfully exercising their constitutional rights to peaceful assembly and expression.
At the resumption of proceedings, human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), appeared with Tomi Olagunju for the defendants.
Falana urged the court to order the release on bond of items allegedly confiscated by the police during the protest, including a generator, DJ music equipment, a first aid box, bags containing cash and flight tickets.
Opening his application, Falana said it was brought pursuant to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State.
He argued that the court had the power to order the release of seized property where such an order would serve the interest of justice.
“The prosecution ought to have filed a report identifying these items seized and what to do with them under Section 5, Subsection 4. That has not been done. They do not want the court to intervene. I urge the court, therefore, to order the release of these items on bond,” Falana said.
He further told the court that one of the seized bags contained N15,000, while another contained two flight tickets valued at N30,000 each.
“These are materials that this honourable court can ask us to produce whenever the case comes up for trial,” he added.
Falana also argued that although the police had released the vehicle used by the DJ because it was a source of livelihood, they had continued to detain the equipment.
He maintained that since the items had not yet been tendered as exhibits before the court, they should be released to their owners on the condition that they would be produced whenever required.
Responding, police prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent of Police Anthony Ihiehie, opposed the application and informed the court that the prosecution would rely on a counter-affidavit.
He argued that the legal provisions cited by the defence applied to requests made before arraignment and not after a case had already commenced.
Ihiehie further submitted that the items formed part of the prosecution’s evidence and releasing them could jeopardise the case.
“Any exhibit cannot be released on bond unless it has been tendered before the court. Releasing an exhibit that has not been tendered in evidence, there is a likelihood that it could be tampered with,” the prosecutor argued.
In reply, Falana disagreed with the prosecution’s interpretation, insisting that if the police could release the vehicle, there was no reason to continue holding the remaining items.
He added that the defence was only seeking the release of the items on bond, subject to their production whenever the court required them.
During proceedings, Magistrate Alaka also queried one of the defence counsel over his green tie, saying it did not conform with the approved dress code for legal practitioners in Nigeria.
“The colour is not the proper attire and colour of a counsel under Nigeria’s jurisdiction,” the magistrate said.
Falana apologised on behalf of the counsel and jokingly promised to confiscate the tie at future sittings, while noting that even in England, where Nigeria borrowed its dress code, practices had evolved.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the magistrate adjourned the case till May 8 for ruling on the application and continuation of trial.
Soweto addressing supporters outside the courthouse, called for continued solidarity with Makoko residents.
“This is a call to all Nigerians to stand in solidarity with the people of Makoko. What happened there can happen anywhere if we allow the state to abuse its power this way. We are here today to show that we are not backing down.
“The struggle for justice for the urban poor is a struggle for the soul of our nation. Solidarity forever,” he said.
“This is the third time we have appeared in court since January 29. We were arrested after protesting against demolitions in Makoko. The charges against us are contrived and amount to a misuse of the justice system.
“The real issue is that people lost their homes and suffered, yet instead of addressing those concerns, the authorities are prosecuting citizens who came out to demand justice,” he said.
Also speaking, Socialist and Revolutionary Activist, Francis Nwapa, said the protest was peaceful and lawful.
“We are here today because of the struggle that happened on January 28, 2026, where community members within Makoko, Oworonshoki, Oko-Agbon and Iwaya participated in a peaceful protest against forced eviction and demolition of houses.
“We are here to show that we are law-abiding citizens and we will not submit our rights to civilian dictators,” Nwapa said.
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Assistant Executive Director of Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), Zikora Ibeh, described the prosecution as wasteful and unnecessary.
She said: “We came to court again today to show solidarity with the defendants because we believe this case should never have been filed in the first place.
“It is clear before the court that this case is a sham trial. We do not have money for anything in this country, yet we have money to prosecute people who have done nothing wrong but speak out against what happened in Makoko.
“It is a waste of public resources to prosecute citizens whose only offence was to speak out over what happened in Makoko. There are many urgent issues facing Nigerians, and resources should be directed to those concerns.
“We are confident that justice will prevail. We urge the authorities to discontinue the matter and allow the court’s time to be used for more deserving cases.
“We will continue to stand with the defendants and with communities facing hardship and displacement.”
