Owode Onirin Killings: CHSR Demands Arrest, Prosecution Of Perpetrators, Compensation For Families Of Victims

The Centre for Human and Socio-Economic Rights (CHSR) has demanded the prosecution of the alleged killers of six traders in Owode Onirin Market on Wednesday August 27, 2025 and the compensation of the families of the victims.

Addressing a press conference on the issue on Wednesday October 22, the President of CHSR, Comrade Alex Omotehinse spoke against the "distortion of facts and police cover-up regarding the August 27, 2025 Owode Onirin Massacre."

Omotehinse demanded that "the Nigeria Police Force must immediately retract its false claims and produce a transparent report on the Owode-Onirin killings.

"The Lagos State Attorney-General, Mr. Lawal Pedro (SAN), should be invited by the Lagos State House of Assembly for questioning over his biased and misleading comments.

"The land grabber, Hakeem Abiodun Ariori, and his accomplices must be re-arrested and prosecuted for murder, terrorism, and unlawful demolition."

The group further demanded that the four police officers from Nasarawa Command, who were alleged to have killed the traders, must face public trial in Lagos State, where the crime was committed.

It was also demanded that "the Lagos State Government must immediately compensate the victims’ families and facilitate free post-mortem examinations without financial extortion.

"The Federal Government, National Assembly, NHRC, NBA, and civil society must jointly ensure that justice is not buried under official lies."

Omotehinse stressed that the CHSR "once again rises in defence of truth, justice, and humanity in the face of growing state-backed manipulation and falsehood surrounding the Owode-Onirin Motor Spare Parts Market massacre of August 27, 2025."

He said; "We are compelled to address this press conference following an orchestrated campaign of distortion by the Nigeria Police Force and the legal representatives of land grabber Abiodun (Hakeem) Ariori, who are now peddling a false narrative aimed at erasing the blood of the innocent and twisting public perception.

"According to their latest claims, “no lives were lost” at Owode-Onirin, and that the killings allegedly took place in Igbogbo, Ikorodu.

"This is a lie from the pit of impunity, a desperate attempt to rewrite history, silence victims, and protect the rich and powerful at the expense of justice.

"On Wednesday, August 27, 2025, six innocent traders were brutally murdered when land grabber Hakeem Abiodun Ariori, in company of armed thugs and four policemen reportedly from Nasarawa State Command, invaded the Owode-Onirin Motor Spare Parts Market."

He added that the victims; Mr. Seyi Akinboye, Mr. Adeoye Taiwo, Mr. Dare Mufutau, Mr. Aderemi Adeoye Hakeem, Mr. Abraham Idowu Temilola, and Mr. Wale Adebayo were legitimate traders, who he said had petitioned the state government for protection from the constant harassment and illegal demolition of his shop..

"They were not criminals.

They were breadwinners, fathers, and community members.

"Their only crime was standing up for their right to trade and live peacefully on land legally allocated by the Lagos State Government decades ago.

"Eyewitnesses, video recordings, photographs, and firsthand accounts by families and co-traders confirm that these men were killed in cold blood within the market premises during the assault.

"The incident was also documented by reputable media outlets within 48 hours of the attack.

"It is shocking and insulting that the Police and Ariori’s legal team are now attempting to conflate the Owode-Onirin massacre with an unrelated robbery and execution incident in Igbogbo, Ikorodu, in a bid to deny the obvious.

"This narrative is not only false and misleading, but it also represents the height of institutional irresponsibility," he said.

According to him, the claim that “no lives were lost at Owode-Onirin” is contradicted by:.the presence of corpses retrieved from the market by emergency responders, testimonies of surviving traders and eyewitnesses and the ongoing mourning of bereaved families whose loved ones’ bodies remain in the morgue and that petitions already received and acknowledged by the Lagos Assembly and Ministry of Justice since March 2025.

The activist stated that "this shameful attempt to merge two separate incidents, one in Owode-Onirin and another in Igbogbo is a calculated diversion, designed to protect Hakeem Ariori, his powerful backers, and the four policemen who carried out this heinous act."

He alleged that for "over a month after the massacre, the Lagos State government has failed to show empathy or take decisive action.  No condolence visit has been paid, no arrest has been made, and no judicial inquiry has been launched."

He stressed that instead, the same suspects Ariori and the implicated police officers were released without trial after 42 days, under the pretext of “self-defence.”

To worsen matters, he said, the bereaved families are now being asked to pay huge sums for post-mortems before they can reclaim the bodies of their loved ones.

"This is barbaric, exploitative, and inhuman. It is nothing short of daylight robbery against the poor, who are already grieving the loss of their breadwinners.

"Where are aged parents and widowed mothers expected to find such money?

Is justice now a privilege reserved only for the rich?

"The Owode-Onirin massacre is not a rumour. It is a painful reality etched in the hearts of widows, orphans, and traders who watched their colleagues slaughtered in broad daylight," he said.

He revealed that CHSR stands firmly with the victims and their families. 

"We refuse to allow history to be rewritten by the powerful and we shall continue to speak truth to power until justice is served and those responsible for this atrocity are held accountable.

"The blood of the Owode-Onirin Six cries for justice, and we will not stop until justice speaks louder than the lies," he said