Human Rights Group, CHSR, Seeks Intervention of Tinubu On Owode-Onirin Killings ...Accuses Lagos Government Of Complicity

The Center for Human and Socio-Economic Rights (CHSR) has sought the intervention of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the recent killings in Owode-Onirin Motor Spare Parts Market.

Addressing the media on Sunday over the matter, the President of CHSR, Comrade Alex Omotehinse, said that  President Bola Tinubu must order an independent probe into the killings, the role of the Nasarawa State Police Command, and the conduct of the Lagos State Ministry of Justice.

Omotehinse also called for the re-arrest and prosecution of the three policemen and land grabber; Abiodun Ariori in Lagos courts, not in Abuja or elsewhere.

"The Inspector-General of Police must end the practice of transferring cases to shield officers from accountability. Nigerians deserve a police force that protects, not exterminates.

"The Lagos State Government must immediately release the bodies of the victims to their families without further financial exploitation. Grieving families must not be punished for crimes committed against them.

"We call on the National Human Rights Commission, Nigerian Bar Association, and credible civil society coalitions to closely monitor this case and resist every attempt to sweep it under the carpet.

"The blood of the Owode-Onirin victims cries for justice. Lagos cannot claim to be a centre of excellence while tolerating state-sponsored land grabbing, police killings, and judicial compromise," he said.

He stressed that the CHSR will not be silent, adding that "if the government fails to act, we shall mobilize local and international advocacy until justice is served."

The activist stressed that "CHSR expresses grave concern and outright condemnation over the recent turn of events surrounding the tragic Owode-Onirin Motor Spare Parts Market massacre, where seven innocent traders were brutally murdered, dozens injured, and about 50 vehicles and shops destroyed.

"Instead of justice, Nigerians are yet again confronted with a disgraceful drama of impunity, compromise, and abuse of state power."

According to him, the Nigeria Police Force, "rather than upholding its constitutional duty to protect life and property, has once again chosen the path of cover-up and selective justice," adding that the three policemen involved in the killings were whisked away to Abuja instead of being tried in Lagos, where the crime occurred. 

This transfer, he said, is nothing but an orchestrated attempt to shield them from public scrutiny and deny the victims’ families justice.

He said; "The so-called orderly room trial that freed the officers on flimsy claims of “self-defence” is a mockery of justice. Self-defence cannot be claimed against unarmed traders defending their shops and livelihoods.

"The release of notorious land grabber, Abiodun (Hakeem) Ariori, who masterminded this violence, reeks of police compromise and corruption. His bail application was deliberately left unchallenged by the police, a clear evidence of collusion.

"To worsen the tragedy, families of the deceased are being extorted to pay huge sums for post-mortems before reclaiming their loved ones’ remains. This exploitation of grief is barbaric, inhuman, and unacceptable.

"We are equally alarmed by the recent remarks of the Attorney General of Lagos State, Mr. Lawal Pedro (SAN). His statement that the Owode-Onirin crisis was not linked to land grabbing but to “another topic of crisis” is reckless, misleading, and insulting to the dead and their families."

He stated that from the onset, CHSR maintained that the Ministry of Justice cannot be trusted to prosecute the case impartially, "given its suspicious disposition towards protecting Abiodun Ariori, who has long been accused of violent land-grabbing in Lagos."

"By downplaying the massacre, the Attorney General has delegitimized the victims’ pain, exonerated the perpetrators by narrative manipulation, and reinforced the perception that justice in Lagos is for sale to the rich and politically connected.

"The Owode-Onirin massacre is not just about a market, land dispute, or traders, it is a litmus test of Nigeria’s justice system. What we are witnessing is:

- State-sanctioned injustice,

- Criminal collaboration between land grabbers and rogue police officers, and

-A justice ministry that serves the powerful, not the people," he said.