The Lagos State Police has deployed officers, patrol vans, and anti-riot vehicles to the state’s Lekki tollgate to prevent peaceful protests.
A video that has gone viral on social media showing roughly eight patrol vehicles at the scene, as well as an anti-riot van.
The vehicles were strategically stationed at the tollgate to prevent protesters from gathering for the #EndSARS protest memorial.
Hakeem Odumosu, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, urged residents of the state not to participate in any planned protests in remembrance of the #EndSARS protest as any such protests, would be met with retaliation from police officers.
In a tweet, human rights activist Omoyele Sowore advised the police against suppressing Nigerians’ desire to repudiate the horrific atrocities that occur under the government of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Recall that Nigerians all around the country took to the streets in October 2020 to protest police brutality and terrible governance under the #EndSARS campaign.
On October 20, soldiers from the 81 division’s Bonny Camp, attacked the Lekki tollgate, where some demonstrators had assembled, and fired rounds on the peaceful protesters, injuring and killing many.
In response to new preparations by youth and groups to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the #EndSARS protest, the police commissioner advised the groups to discontinue their plans.
Despite the fact that Nigerians have the constitutional right to peaceful assembly and protest, the Nigerian police have continued to impose restrictions on demonstrators.
Remember also that some Nigerians had planned to stage a #OccupyLekkiTollGate protest in February in response to the decision to reopen the Lekki Toll Plaza in Lagos State as LCC’s appealed to reclaim the toll gates on the Lekki-Epe expressway and the Lekki-Ikoyi link bridge which was granted by the State Judicial Panel of Enquiry. The panel, however, was split on the verdict.
Following the verdict, the #EndSARS organizers began mobilizing for another wave of protests, titled #OccupyLekki, while another pro-government organization, #DefendLagos and #DemNoBornDemPapaWell, launched a counter-movement.
The Lagos State Police Command dispatched officers to the Lekki toll plaza on the Lekki-Epe road immediately.
Also during a peaceful demonstration in Abuja, Nigerian police opened fire on members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), better known as Shiites.
Recall also that Men of the Nigeria Police Force also shot tear gas canisters at protestors in Abuja during a peaceful rally on Nigeria’s independence day.
The peaceful protesters chanted ‘Buhari Must Go’ and displayed banners and posters.
Six of the protesters were apprehended by the police, brutalized, and detained for calling for Buhari’s resignation, even though they were later freed.
