Ajiran murder case: #EndBadGovernance welcomes police probe of AIG Jimoh, demands suspension and broader inquiry
By Ishaya Ibrahim
The Lagos chapter of the #EndBadGovernance Movement has welcomed the Nigeria Police Force’s announcement of an investigation into allegations against Assistant Inspector-General of Police (Zone 2) Moshood Jimoh, while insisting the probe must go far beyond the Ajiran murder case and include his immediate suspension.
In a statement Wednesday signed by Oloye Adegboyega-Adeniji and Hassan Taiwo Soweto on behalf of the movement’s organising committee, the group noted the police force’s public commitment on 4 August 2026 to due process following claims made by social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM). The movement said any credible investigation must examine the full range of public complaints against the senior officer, whom it described as having a long record of alleged human rights abuses.
“While welcoming every genuine investigation into this individual whose name has become synonymous with police brutality, torture and lawlessness, we must note that any probe that does not take into account all allegations and complaints by members of the public against AIG Jimoh Moshood will not lead to full accountability and justice,” the statement read.
The group accused Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu of failing to act on earlier petitions and of promoting Jimoh despite unresolved complaints. It cited a petition it submitted on 9 March 2026 to both the IGP’s office and the Police Service Commission regarding Jimoh’s conduct as Lagos State Commissioner of Police. According to the movement, neither body responded, and Jimoh was later elevated to AIG Zone 2.
The movement recalled Jimoh Moshood’s action in response to a January 28 2026 protest organised by the Coalition Against Demolition, Forced Eviction, Landgrabbing and Displacement in Lagos State. The demonstration opposed planned clearances in communities including Makoko, Owode Onirin, Oworonshoki and Ajegunle.
The movement alleged that Jimoh refused to receive a formal notification of the protest and later ordered officers to fire tear gas “menacingly and indiscriminately” at peaceful demonstrators, many of them elderly. It said more than five protesters were injured, with at least two hospitalised for burns and other injuries caused by tear-gas canisters. Aso, protest leader Hassan Taiwo Soweto was arrested on Jimoh’s orders, taken into the Lagos State House of Assembly complex and allegedly assaulted by Jimoh and about six other officers, leaving him with multiple bruises and a spinal injury he continues to treat, the statement said.
The group noted that the January incident drew local and international media coverage and statements from organisations including Amnesty International and the Rule of Law Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), yet no disciplinary action followed.
#EndBadGovernance Lagos listed seven specific demands:
1. Immediate suspension of AIG Moshood Jimoh pending investigation of all allegations against him.
2. Constitution of an independent investigative panel involving the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), National Union of Journalists (NUJ), RULAAC and Amnesty International.
3. A comprehensive inquiry into all previous petitions and allegations of human rights abuses, not limited to the Ajiran case.
4. Full investigation of the 28 January 2026 police action against protesters, including the use of tear gas, arrests and seizure of equipment.
4. Examination of Soweto’s claims of brutality and torture.
5. Investigation of police operations linked to forced evictions and demolitions in Makoko and other informal settlements, including allegations that tear gas fired on Jimoh’s orders contributed to the deaths of at least 12 residents, among them a five-day-old infant, between 23 December 2025 and 20 January 2026.
6. Public disclosure of the findings and prosecution of any officers found culpable.
