For a Lagos lawyer who has spent most of his professional life defending the underprivileged, the events of 2018 and 2019 remain etched in memory as painful reminders of the risks faced by human rights advocates in Nigeria.
The Ikeja-based Principal Partner, Kehinde Idowu, heavily inspired by Chief Gani Fawehinmi, has handled numerous pro bono cases involving unlawful arrests, detentions, and abuse of fundamental rights. His passion for justice led him into civic activism as early as 2002 when he joined the National Conscience Party. He later became active within the Nigerian Bar Association and even contested for a seat in the Lagos State House of Assembly.
In 2012, Idowu co-founded the Human Rights Defenders and Advocacy Centre, now known as the Human Rights Defenders and Access to Justice Advocacy Centre (HRDAC). The group focuses on exposing rights abuses, challenging corruption, defending vulnerable people, and holding government officials accountable. Over the years, his activism brought him into several confrontations with security agencies.
One of those confrontations occurred in 2018 when he led a sit-in protest calling for the release of an unlawfully detained HRDAC member. Instead of engaging peacefully, security operatives arrested him, igniting public outcry and prompting intervention from the Lagos State Commissioner of Police.
But the most traumatic incident came the following year. On January 31, 2019, he led HRDAC members and concerned citizens in a peaceful protest dubbed “END THE CORRUPTION NOW!!” They had duly notified the police ahead of time. Still, the authorities refused to provide security.
As the group marched through Ikeja, headed for the Allen Avenue Roundabout, strange men approached them with questions. Before long, armed operatives stormed the scene. What followed, according to him, was chaos.
“They beat us, tear-gassed us, and fired shots into the air. People ran for safety. It was meant to be peaceful, but they turned it violent,” he recalls.
He tried to calm the terrified protesters and encourage them to disperse, but the attackers singled him out. Identified as the leader, he was dragged, assaulted, and arrested alongside two other group members.
Reflecting on the experience, he says it embodies the larger struggle over freedom of expression in Nigeria.
“The right to protest is guaranteed by the Constitution, yet peaceful citizens are often treated like criminals. That should not happen in a democracy,” he added.
Although the incident is now several years old, he believes its relevance has only grown stronger. Issues of police brutality, excessive force, corruption, and shrinking civic space continue to dominate national conversations, especially after the #EndSARS protests.
“What happened then is still happening today,” he says. “Our democracy is still learning to respect the rights of its citizens.”
For him, the fight continues—not only in courtrooms but also in the larger civic arena where ordinary Nigerians struggle to make their voices heard.
