The Lagos state police command has explained the reason why it dispersed protesters and fans of the late Nigerian singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba known as Mohbad, who gathered on Thursday to hold a candlelight procession in honour of the late singer, at the Lekki Tollgate, Lagos State.
In a statement signed by the Lagos Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, and made available on the verified page of the Lagos State Police X (formerly Twitter) page on Friday, the command said it had to disperse sympathizers in order to avoid a recurrence of the EndSARS saga.
According to the command, there was agreement between the police and the organizers of the procession not to use the Lekki Toll Gate as a point of gathering which was adhered to during the procession but some persons later violated by gathering there.
Hundeyin noted that efforts made to persuade the sympathizers who gathered at the Lekki Toll Gate by the police and the organizers did not yield any result which forced the police to disperse them with teargas to protect lives and properties within the area.
The statement read, “The Lagos State Police Command is fully aware of false narratives making the rounds in relation to the dispersal of crowds at the Lekki Toll Gate yesterday, September 21, 2023.
“It is instructive to note that the Lagos State Police Command had an agreement with the organizers of the candlelight procession that the procession was to end at 8 pm latest and should terminate at Muri Okunola, Victoria Island. It was clearly stated, for the avoidance of doubt, that in the interest of all Lagosians and considering the heavy use of the Lekki-Epe Expressway, the Lekki Toll Gate would be a no-go area.
“However, it became disconcerting that after the procession duly ended at Muri Okunola Park as agreed, with the police providing optimal security all through, some persons started gathering at the Lekki Toll Gate with the intent to manifest objectives extraneous to the #justiceforMohbad initiative.
“Being a clear violation of the laid-down agreement, the Lagos State Police Command invited the procession organizers, who came back and joined the officers on the ground in persuading the people at the toll gate to disperse peacefully. The organizers equally sent out messages on social media asking everyone to go home, clarifying in clear terms that it was not a protest but a procession that had been successfully concluded. This persuasion and appeal went on for hours, during which the police and organizers met defiance, both in words and action. At this point, all lanes in and out of Lekki had been totally blocked, leading to a traffic buildup on the ever-busy expressway.
“Having experienced similar situations before and learned from previous encounters, and having studied the pattern in the crowd, the red flags and early warning signs of total chaos and anarchy were discernible. Therefore, in fulfillment of our mandate to protect life and property, maintain law and order, and prevent crimes, we adopted the least harmful method of crowd dispersal, following the failure of verbal persuasion – the use of teargas. Not a single live round was fired! The police adopted crowd management best practices in engaging the unruly crowd. No lives were lost, and there were no injuries.
“The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, hereby warns mischief-makers that any person or group of persons found disturbing the peace of the state, under whatever guise, would be promptly arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
“The Lagos State Police Command also appreciates the procession organizers for keeping faith with the Command and assures all supporters of #justiceforMohbad and Lagosians at large that it would continue to prioritize their safety and security at all times”.
Recall that reports emerged yesterday of an alleged incident in which tear gas was deployed by the Lagos State Police in the Lekki area, resulting in injuries to some individuals.
