Human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) has called for the arrest and prosecution of police officers accused of using tear gas to disperse elderly pensioners protesting at Alausa, Lagos, over unpaid pension adjustments and wage awards, describing the action as “a provocative breach” of the Police Establishment Act.
ValidViewNetwork gathered that police officers on Monday, August 31, 2026, disrupted a protest organised by pensioners under the Nigeria Union of Pensioners and retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme at the Lagos State Government Secretariat and the State House of Assembly complex in Alausa, Ikeja.
The retirees were demanding implementation of approved pension increases and wage awards. Police officers reportedly fired tear gas at the elderly protesters, forcing them to disperse.
Falana Condemns Police Action
Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana (SAN) , condemned the action, arguing that the retirees were exercising their constitutional right to peaceful assembly and protest.
He called on the Inspector-General of Police to identify the officers involved and ensure their prosecution.
Falana cited the 2008 Court of Appeal judgment in Inspector General of Police v All Nigerian People Party, which affirmed the right of Nigerians to organise rallies and demonstrations without obtaining a police permit.
“A rally or placard carrying demonstration has become a form of expression of views on current issues affecting government and the governed in a sovereign state,” he said.
A Breach of the Police Establishment Act
Falana also cited the Nigeria Police Force Establishment Act 2020, arguing that the police have a duty to provide security for peaceful gatherings rather than violently disperse them.
Section 4 of the Act requires the police officer responsible for an area where a rally is taking place to mobilise personnel to protect the gathering.
“The violent disruption of the peaceful rally of pensioners at Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos State is a complete violation of the rights of the protesters to assemble and protest against the failure of the Lagos State Government to pay their pension as and when due,” Falana said.
He described the police action as “a provocative breach” of the Police Establishment Act.
Pensioners’ Response
Michael Omisande, Chairman of the Lagos State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners Contributory Pension Scheme, said several hundred retirees participated in the protest.
He said representatives of the Lagos State Commissioner of Police later met with the pensioners and apologised.Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was away at the time, sent his Chief of Staff to meet the protesters.
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The pensioners were asked to return to Alausa on Thursday for a meeting with the governor.
