The Anti-Cult Alliance Movement (ACAM) has issued a scathing press release condemning the Nigeria Police Force over its handling of the ongoing trial of activists Hassan Taiwo “Soweto” and Dele Frank “Arole Fela,” describing the prosecution as “colonial brutality in uniform” and evidence of deep systemic failure in Nigerian policing.

“This is not about law and order,” ACAM declared in the statement signed by National Coordinator Akin Okunowo. “This is about a systemic rot in Nigerian policing — a system designed to criminalize the poor, silence the oppressed, and protect power, not people.”

The release follows proceedings on April 24, 2026, at the Yaba Magistrate Court where police prosecutor Anthony Ihiehie opposed the defence lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), request for the release of musical instruments, generators, and speakers seized during the January 28 anti-demolition protest in Lagos. The equipment, rented by protesters, belonged to a DJ whose livelihood has been grounded since the seizure.

“Evidence of what exactly?” ACAM queried, criticizing the prosecutor’s claim that the items would be tendered as evidence. “That poor people sang against being made homeless is a crime, so police need to tender DJ equipment as exhibits? That a DJ played music while Lagosians cried against bulldozers is a crime?

The group called the police action “wicked” and “anti-poor,” noting that the DJ has not earned income since January.

AIG Jimoh Under Fire

ACAM reserved sharp criticism for AIG Zone 2, Moshood Olohundare Jimoh, former Lagos Commissioner of Police, who reportedly claimed protesters “insulted him” during the January 28 demonstration.

“Since when did an officer’s ego become more important than the Constitution? Since when did ‘insult’ become a crime punishable by seizing a man’s livelihood?” the statement read.

The group linked Jimoh’s alleged conduct to what it called a “fundamental error” in police training. “He said Sowore should be arrested for protesting. He ordered peaceful protesters to be shot with teargas, beaten and wounded because they insulted him. Oga, abeg, who the hell are you? Are you God?”

“It is training that teaches them to see a hungry man as a criminal… to protect bulldozers and not babies that died… to turn victims into suspects and suspects into victims,” ACAM stated. “It is a training that still serves the interest of colonial masters — not Nigerians.”

The group cited two other incidents to illustrate alleged double standards: the police’s failure to arrest men who “tied Uto Simon Oselebe like a goat and burned him with fire in Ebonyi,” and a case where officers from Nasarawa allegedly shot and killed traders in Lagos on the orders of a land grabber, yet the Directorate of Public Prosecution withdrew charges despite a police disciplinary panel finding the officers guilty.

“This is why they are experts at turning criminals into victims, and victims into criminals,” ACAM said. “IT IS A BIG SHAME THAT THIS IS THE KIND OF POLICE WE HAVE IN NIGERIA.”

Demands to IGP, Judiciary

ACAM listed five demands to Inspector General of Police:

1. Immediate release of the seized generator, speakers, and sound system on bond.

2. Discontinuation of what Soweto called a “sham trial,” urging withdrawal of charges against Soweto and Frank.

3. Urgent overhaul of police training, replacing “colonial brutality” with human rights, de-escalation, and constitutional law.

4. Investigation of AIG Moshood Jimoh for allegedly criminalizing protesters over “insult.”

5. Compensation for Makoko, Otumara, Owode Onirin, Oworonshoki, and Ajegunle residents displaced by forced demolitions.

The group also addressed Magistrate I. O. Alaka, who adjourned ruling on the seized items to May 8: “Nigeria is watching your ruling… Will you uphold the law or uphold oppression? Will you return a poor man’s tools or help the police weaponize poverty?”

“Today it is Makoko. Tomorrow it is your area,” ACAM warned Nigerians, echoing comments by CDHR’s Comrade Isa Oyetunji that the trial aims to “intimidate activists” and CAPPA’s Zikora Ibeh who called it “a sham trial and a waste of public resources.”

“Police abuse and cultism are twins. Both thrive on fear. Both recruit by force. Both kill by silence,” the statement concluded. “Enough is enough. This is systemic. And the system must fall or be fixed.”

Soweto and Frank were arrested during a protest by displaced waterfront communities against demolitions on January 28, 2026. Police dispersed protesters with tear gas, causing injuries. The defendants’ legal team, led by Femi Falana, SAN, has applied for release of the seized equipment, arguing it is the DJ’s sole source of livelihood.

Magistrate Alaka will rule on the application on May 8, 2026.

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