A coalition of civil society organisations has called for a full investigation into the alleged tear-gassing of elderly pensioners who gathered outside the Lagos State House of Assembly on Monday to demand payment of outstanding pensions, gratuities and other entitlements.
The groups, led by the Centre for Human and Socio-Economic Rights, made the demand at a press conference held in Ijaye on Wednesday, calling for accountability from both the Lagos State Government and the state police command over the alleged use of force against the retirees.
According to the CSOs, the pensioners had assembled peacefully at the Assembly gate to press for entitlements they said they had been owed despite decades of service to the state. CHSR President Alex Omotehinse said the incident reflected what he described as a recurring pattern of security agencies breaking up demonstrations in Lagos, recalling that his organisation and others were also tear-gassed during a January protest by victims of demolition.
“We have observed that under this constitutional government, it has already become a norm that every protest will be attacked, assaulted and dismembered,” Omotehinse said.
He emphasized the age and service history of the protesters, stating: “These aged men and women, they are not activists. They are not motorists. They are aged people that have served Lagos State for about 85 per cent of their lifetime—32, 33, 35 years in service.”
Omotehinse questioned the rationale behind the alleged police response, asking, “What was their offence that must have warranted these aged men and women to be tear-gassed?” He also called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to clarify whether his administration had authorised the action, saying, “On what basis did Sanwo-Olu have to instruct the police to tear-gas protesters? That is the pensioners.”
He further drew a contrast between the pensioners’ circumstances and benefits available to former Lagos governors, including vehicle entitlements, saying, “Every ex-governor in Lagos is entitled to three brand-new cars every three years. So these aged people that do not demand cars, they are not entitled to cars.”
Omotehinse also directly challenged Lagos State Commissioner of Police Fatai Tijani, who reportedly said footage circulating of the alleged tear-gassing was AI-generated. “We listened to a press conference where the CP Lagos tried to distort the facts by giving lies, saying the video and the footage you are seeing are AI-generated. They are nothing like the tear-gassing of the protest,” he said, urging the commissioner to investigate the footage and prosecute anyone found to have fabricated it: “If truly it is AI-generated, go after those who made the fake news or those who are promoting that AI-generated video.”
Community Women Initiative Coordinator Funmilayo Ajayi questioned what she characterized as differing treatment by security agencies of political rallies compared with protests by ordinary citizens. “Why must it be that when politicians occupy the streets of Lagos, they will say there is something like they will hijack it? That is the language of the police,” she said, adding, “But when masses occupy the streets of Lagos, it will be hijacked and people will be tear-gassed. Why?”
Ajayi described the protesters as “armless mothers and fathers” whose only means of protest were placards and songs. “They were not beggars. They were not begging the government for anything. They were asking for their rights and they are armless. The only weapon they have is their placards,” she said, demanding clarity on who ordered the alleged use of tear gas and calling on the state government to immediately settle the pensioners’ outstanding entitlements.
Ibrahim Oluwatobiloba of Voice of the Masses and Support for Credible Leadership called the alleged police action “sacrilegious” and “shameful,” saying, “Nobody would expect that such an elderly citizen would be tear-gassed. In fact, it was shameful. It was like a scene from a movie.” He pointed to what he said were conflicting official accounts, noting that the Chief of Staff to Governor Sanwo-Olu reportedly stated the government did not order the tear-gassing, which he said contradicted the police commissioner’s claim that the footage was AI-generated. “That means there was tear-gassing on that day. So the question we should be asking is who ordered them to be tear-gassed,” he said. He called for the prosecution of any officers found responsible and urged Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu to caution the Lagos commissioner, alleging that “under his watch, we have recorded three major incidents of tear-gassing protesters.”
Committee for the Defence of Human Rights National Publicity Secretary Adewunmi Adesina said the pensioners were merely exercising their right to demand entitlements owed to them. “It is the right of pensioners to get their money. But the government has decided to deny them their right. The government is supposed to respond to their cry,” he said, describing the alleged use of tear gas as “wicked” and “inhumane” and arguing that police should protect peaceful protesters rather than disperse them. “It is the right of every human to protest, and the police are supposed to guide them, but having gone this far, the police are gassing them. It is an abuse of their fundamental right,” Adesina said.
No individual has been charged in connection with the alleged incident, and the allegations against police personnel remain unproven. The civil society coalition is calling on authorities to formally investigate the events of Monday’s protest, determine who authorised any use of force, and hold accountable anyone found responsible, while also urging the Lagos State Government to resolve the pensioners’ outstanding payments.
Source: The Punch
