A community leader in Makoko, Lagos State, Jude Ojo, has recounted events surrounding the protest staged by residents on Wednesday, the 28th of January, over alleged land grabbing and forced eviction.
Ojo gave the account while appearing on The Morning Brief, a Channels Television programme, on Thursday, the 29th of January, 2026. He alleged that members of the Lagos State House of Assembly refused to grant the protesters access into the Assembly complex to present their grievances.
According to him, the lawmakers initially instructed the protesters to remain outside and wait, only for security operatives to disperse them shortly afterward using tear gas.
He further disclosed that the protest turned violent, resulting in one of the demonstrators being shot in the leg.
“Yesterday was a day that I will never forget in my life. Firstly, as an evictee from Otumara community and a member of the Slumber and Dweller International, SDI, we decided to approach the government in another way whereby probably we could get attention for how our rights have been violated.
“We’ve carried out some protests in the past. It’s as if nobody’s attending to us. We’ve been having promises upon promises, but they are never kept.
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“The protest started very well from Ikeja Bridge down to the Assembly gate, and the Assembly officials came to us that they would listen to us. We said no problem. That is the more reason we are here.
“Can we move into the complex, at least the field there, if you can’t have us in the office? But they said no. These are the people that come to meet us during elections. They are calling us slums. They are calling us shanties. They are calling us all kinds of names now.
“They asked us to wait that they will attend to us. The next thing we experienced was gunshot and teargas. So there were gunshots and a guy was shot in the leg. That guy was rushed to hospital,” Ojo said.