I bought an iphone recently with an activation lock on it. How do i remove it?

Whoever has control over the Apple ID has to approve it. It would require entering the entire email address for the Apple ID and the password. If someone sold it to you and forgot to clear it, it can be done remotely.

How to remove Activation Lock - Apple Support

Apple may be able to override the activation lock if you can prove that you're the rightful owner. This might require something like the original receipt or perhaps a death certificate where the device was inherited. Otherwise, it's a feature designed to prevent stolen devices from being used until the rightful owner can release it.

If this is a secondhand phone, you possibly paid for a stolen device that has been tagged by the rightful owner as "do not use". If not stolen the previous owner did not remove it from their "list of devices". Get your money back from the seller and buy from Apple or Apple Authorized seller to avoid these issues.

You shouldn’t have bought an iPhone with the Activation Lock. This is because you will need the Apple ID and Password that was used to put the Activation Lock. You can contact the seller and get the information. If you cannot get the credentials to remove the Activation Lock, then that iPhone will be useless to you.

Axel F.