The sun rose like any other Wednesday over Lagos on August 27, 2025. Traders at the Owode Onirin Motor Spare Parts Market opened their shops, swept their stalls, and prepared for another day of honest hustle. Fathers kissed their children goodbye. Mothers packed food for the day. No one knew that by midday, the market would be drenched in blood.
It began with the rumble of boots and the crackle of gunfire. Armed thugs, flanked by four policemen, stormed the market with a singular mission: terror. Witnesses say they came under the orders of a man whose name now echoes in grief—Mr. Abiodun Hakeem Ariori, a land grabber with alleged ties to powerful figures in Lagos State.
Within minutes, six traders lay dead:-
Seyi Akinboye, who sold brake pads and dreamed of sending his daughter to university.- Adeoye Taiwo, a quiet man known for helping apprentices get their start.- Dare Mufutau, who had just paid off his shop loan.- Aderemi Adeoye Hakeem, a father of three, shot while shielding a colleague.- Abraham Idowu Temilola, who had survived a previous demolition but not this one.- Wale Adebayo, whose wife still waits for him to come home.Dozens more were injured. Hundreds lost their shops. Thousands lost their livelihoods. And the market—once a symbol of resilience—became a graveyard of dreams.But the bullets weren’t the only betrayal.For months, the traders had cried out. They wrote letters. They marched peacefully. They petitioned Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the Lagos State House of Assembly. Their pleas were met with silence. And when the demolition came—despite a pending court case—it felt like the final insult.Now, the man accused of orchestrating this horror walks free. Ariori, untouched by law, moves through Lagos as if nothing happened. The four policemen involved remain unnamed. The Lagos State Attorney General, Lawal Pedro (SAN), is accused of shielding Ariori. And the families of the dead are left with nothing but grief.The Centre for Human and Socio-Economic Rights (CHSR), led by Comrade Alex Omotehinse, has refused to let this massacre fade into silence. They demand:- The arrest and prosecution of Ariori.- Public identification and trial of the four police officers.- Removal of the Attorney General.- Compensation for victims.- Permanent security at Owode Market.But this is more than a list of demands. It’s a warning.If Lagos continues down this path—where development means displacement, and justice is traded for profit—then the city risks another uprising. The memory of #EndSARS still burns. And the slogan #EndLagosDemolitionNow is already beginning to stir.This story is not just about Owode Onirin. It’s about every Nigerian who has been silenced, displaced, or betrayed by the very institutions meant to protect them. It’s about the blood on our streets—and the conscience of a nation.May the fallen be remembered not just in mourning, but in action.
