Makoko anti-demolition protesters to regain seized items as court adjourns Soweto, Frank trial to Aug 31
By Ishaya Ibrahim
Magistrate Mrs. I. O. Alaka of the Yaba Magistrate Court on Friday ordered the police to release items seized from Makoko anti-demolition protesters.
The order was made during the trial of Comrade Hassan Taiwo Soweto and Comrade Dele Frank. The duo were arrested outside the Lagos State House of Assembly during an anti-demolition protest by residents of Makoko, Otumara, Owode Onirin, and other waterfront communities on January 28, 2026.
Police had dispersed the protesters with teargas, seized their musical instruments and other items, arrested Soweto and Frank, and filed a five-count charge against them.
In a short ruling, Mrs. I. O. Alaka said the court needed to balance the need to return the items to their owners — since they were rented — with the prosecution’s argument that the items would form part of its evidence.
The magistrate therefore ruled that the police should provide an inventory of the seized items and release them to the applicants upon a bond of N200,000.
TheNiche gathered that the items seized by the police include a Dell laptop, loudspeakers, generators, a channel mixer, wired and wireless microphones, a stabiliser amp, a power amp, a table fan extension box, loudspeaker wires, and a laptop bag containing an ATM card, an external hard drive, cables, cords, Bluetooth earpods, headphones, a wireless mic, a wallet with at least N40,000 in cash, and another wallet with N23,000, two first aid bags, and many other items.
Counsel to the applicants, OC Olagunju, urged the court to give the police a specific timeline for the release of the items. But the prosecutor, SP Anthony Ihiehie, said the police would comply with the orders after completing its internal processes.
The case was adjourned to August 31, 2026, for trial.
