Six men were shot dead on 27th August 2025 at Owode Onirin motor spare parts market in Lagos during a land dispute enforcement operation. The police officers involved were brought from Nasarawa State by property developer Abiodun Ariori, acting for a Lagos family claiming ownership of the contested land. Then Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Moshood Olohundare Jimoh, ordered an investigation, leading to the arrest and dismissal of four officers: Inspectors Musa Bala and Ahmed Abass, and Corporals Ibrahim Kasimu and Ibrahim Garba. Autopsy reports from Lagos State University Teaching Hospital and ballistic findings from the Force Criminal Investigation Department linked the officers to the killings.
Jimoh stated, "This matter has not been swept under the carpet. Nobody can stop us from ensuring that justice is done," before his promotion to Assistant Inspector General of Police. However, on 3rd March 2026, Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) head Babajide Martins issued a legal opinion that there was no prima facie case against the officers, ruling they acted in self-defence. The DPP withdrew all charges of felony and involuntary manslaughter, citing lack of forensic evidence, despite claims otherwise.
On 5th March 2026, DCP Dayo Akinbisehin wrote to the DPP asserting that autopsy reports, ballistic analyses, and firearm examinations had been submitted and were sufficient for conviction. Martins, recently elevated to Permanent Secretary (Director, State Counsel) by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, did not act on the appeal. The Centre for Human and Socio-Economic Rights has called for the removal of Lagos State Attorney General Lawal Pedro, SAN, alleging his office enabled the violence. Ariori's lawyer said Pedro chaired a stakeholders' meeting where he told traders their allocation letters did not confer legal ownership. Human rights lawyer Femi Falana said his team would submit additional evidence and pursue civil suits for compensation.
Babajide Martins, days after clearing police officers in the Owode Onirin killings, was promoted to Permanent Secretary, raising questions about the timing and judgment behind the DPP's decision. The police, having dismissed the officers and gathered autopsy and ballistic evidence, are now pushing for prosecution while the state's top prosecutor blocks the case. Martins ruled the officers acted in self-defence after being attacked by a mob, yet they were outsiders enforcing a disputed land claim in a Lagos market. The traders killed had been told by the Attorney General's office that their allocation letters held no legal weight, making their resistance appear less like an ambush and more like a confrontation foreseen by the state.
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