Court Fixes New Date To Rule On Makoko Protest Case

A Chief Magistrates’ Court sitting in Yaba, Lagos, on Monday, April 27, 2026,  adjourned the trial of activist Hassan “Soweto” Taiwo and Dele Frank till May 8, 2026, over their alleged involvement in the January 28 protest against demolitions in Makoko.

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Magistrate I.O. Alaka also reserved ruling on an application seeking the release of items seized during the demonstration.

Naija News reports that the case stems from a protest organised by residents and activists against the Lagos State Government’s demolition exercise in Makoko and other waterfront communities.

While the defendants face charges related to the protest, they have maintained that they were lawfully exercising their constitutional rights to peaceful assembly and expression.

At the resumed hearing, human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), appeared alongside Tomi Olagunju for the defendants.

Falana urged the court to order the release of items allegedly confiscated by the police during the protest. The items include a generator, DJ equipment, a first aid box, and bags containing cash and flight tickets.

Opening his application, Falana said it was filed 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 authority to order the release of seized property in 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.

Falana further told the court that one of the seized bags contained ₦15,000, while another held two flight tickets valued at ₦30,000 each.

“These are materials that this honourable court can ask us to produce whenever the case comes up for trial,” he added.

He noted that although the police had released the vehicle used by the DJ on the grounds that it was a source of livelihood, the equipment remained in custody.

Falana insisted that since the items had not been tendered as exhibits, they should be released to their owners on bond, with a commitment to produce them whenever required.

‘Exhibit Could Be Tempered With’

However, the police prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent of Police Anthony Ihiehie, opposed the application, stating that the prosecution would rely on a counter-affidavit.

He argued that the legal provisions cited by the defence applied before arraignment and not after proceedings had commenced.

Ihiehie also maintained that the items formed part of the prosecution’s evidence and releasing them could undermine 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,” he said.

In response, Falana disagreed with the prosecution’s interpretation, noting that the earlier release of the vehicle weakened the argument for continued detention of the remaining items.

He stressed that the defence was only seeking their release on bond, subject to their production in court when needed.

During proceedings, Magistrate Alaka also queried one of the defence lawyers over his green tie, stating that it did not conform to 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, joking that he would confiscate the tie at future sittings, while adding that even in England, where Nigeria borrowed its dress code, practices had evolved.

Following the court session, Soweto addressed supporters outside the courtroom, calling 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.

He also described the charges against him and his co-defendant as baseless.

“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 added.

Also speaking, socialist activist Francis Nwapa insisted that 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.

Similarly, the Assistant Executive Director of Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, Zikora Ibeh, described the prosecution as unnecessary.

“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,” she said.

“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.”

After listening to arguments from both parties, the magistrate adjourned the matter till May 8 for ruling on the application and continuation of the trial.