- CHSR Slams Police, Demands Justice for Owode-Onirin Market Victims
- The CHSR criticised the police’s claim of self-defence during the trial
- Subsequent reports on October 4, 2025, revealed that the police had released the three accused officers
The Centre for Human and Socio-Economic Rights (CHSR) has condemned what it described as a “drama of impunity” in the handling of the Owode-Onirin motor spare parts market killings, following the release of three policemen accused of killing seven traders and the bail granted to alleged land grabber, Abiodun Ariori.
Eko Hot Blog reports that in a statement issued by its President, Alex Omotehinse, the group said the decision of the Nigeria Police Force to transfer the implicated officers to Abuja rather than prosecute them in Lagos amounted to a deliberate attempt to shield them from public scrutiny.
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“The Nigeria Police Force has once again chosen the path of cover-up and selective justice,” Omotehinse said. “Transferring the implicated officers to Abuja instead of trying them in Lagos is an orchestrated attempt to deny the victims’ families justice.”
The CHSR also criticised the police’s claim of self-defence during the trial, describing the outcome of the orderly room proceedings that exonerated the officers as “a mockery of justice.”
“Self-defence cannot be claimed against unarmed traders defending their shops and livelihoods,” the rights group stated.
Omotehinse further accused the police of failing to challenge the bail application of Ariori, whom traders alleged masterminded the deadly invasion of the market. He alleged that this was evidence of collusion between the police and the suspects.
The group also decried reports that families of the victims were being made to pay for post-mortems before retrieving their loved ones’ remains.
“Exploiting grief is barbaric, inhuman, and unacceptable. It reinforces the perception that justice in Lagos is for sale to the rich and politically connected,” Omotehinse added.
The CHSR demanded the re-arrest and prosecution of the three officers and Ariori in Lagos, as well as a federal probe into the killings, an end to police impunity, and independent oversight of the case by human rights bodies and the Nigerian Bar Association.
“The blood of the Owode-Onirin victims cries for justice,” Omotehinse declared. “Lagos cannot claim to be a centre of excellence while tolerating state-sponsored land grabbing, police killings, and judicial compromise. Justice delayed is justice denied. Justice denied is democracy betrayed.”
On August 30, 2025, at least seven traders were killed and about 50 vehicles destroyed when policemen allegedly working with land grabbers invaded the Owode-Onirin Motor Spare Parts Market in Lagos. Victims identified included Wale Adebayo, Akinboye Oluwaseyi, Taiye Adeoye, Mufutau Salaudeen, and Idowu Abraham.
While police initially claimed only three deaths, eyewitnesses and hospital sources confirmed seven fatalities, with several others critically injured.
Subsequent reports on October 4, 2025, revealed that the police had released the three accused officers and that Ariori had been granted bail on medical grounds developments that have reignited public outrage and renewed calls for accountability.
Rights groups and community leaders have warned that failure to prosecute those responsible risks eroding public confidence in Nigeria’s justice system.
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