Southampton Trades Union Council, others call for charges against Soweto, Frank to be dropped, say protest not a crime
By Ishaya Ibrahim
The Southampton Trades Union Council (UK) has joined growing calls for the immediate and unconditional dropping of what it describes as “trumped-up” charges against activists Hassan Taiwo Soweto and Dele Frank, popularly known as Arole Fela.
The UK-based trade union body expressed solidarity by displaying placards at its office premises, demanding an end to the criminalisation of peaceful protest and the immediate withdrawal of all charges against the activists.
Also, former UK MP Dave Nellist, and Sarah Sachs-Eldridge, a member of the Socialist Party executive committee in the UK have added their voices to the growing international demand for Nigerian authorities to immediately drop the charges against Hassan Taiwo Soweto and Dele Frank.
In separate letters addressed to the Lagos State Police Commissioner and the Lagos State Ministry of Justice, they described the prosecution as a clear attempt to criminalise peaceful dissent, stifle legitimate protest, and suppress fundamental democratic rights. They urged the authorities to respect court precedents affirming the right to peaceful assembly and to end what they term politically motivated harassment of activists advocating for communities facing forced evictions.
Soweto, coordinator of the #EndBadGovernance Movement’s Lagos chapter and a member of the Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM), along with Frank, a musician and protest participant, face five-count charges in a Lagos court for participating in the peaceful January 28, 2026, demonstration against forced evictions, demolitions, and land grabbing in informal communities across Lagos State.
The charges, filed by the police include; conspiracy to commit felony, unlawful assembly, conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace, obstruction of traffic/public highway using a vehicle with a public address system and singing abusive songs against the police and Lagos State Government. The defendants denied the allegations.
On March 11, 2026 sitting of the Yaba Chief Magistrate Court, the case was adjourned to April 24, 2026, for mention. The adjournment followed the absence of Dele Frank, who reportedly fell ill and was indisposed, preventing his attendance.
