No protest will hold at the Lekki Tollgate on Saturday, February 13, 2020, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, has declared.
The police commissioner made this known at a briefing on Thursday, noting that some criminal elements had concluded plans to cause another set of mayhem like the destruction that trailed the #EndSARS protest last October.
Recall that the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry probing the alleged killing of #EndSARS protesters by soldiers at the Lekki Toll Gate, last Saturday decided to hand over the tollgate back to its operators, Lekki Concession Company, after forensic experts submitted their report on the October 20, 2020 incident.
Subsequently, hashtags such as #OccupyLekkiTollgate and counter-protest hashtags such as #DefendLagos and #DemNoBornYourPapaWell trended online. Both protests are slated for Saturday.
But the Lagos CP on Thursday said, “Organising any protest in furtherance of the recent violent and destructive #EndSARS protest will be counterproductive to the ongoing series of inquiries and investigations into many cases related to the #EndSARS violence and the present security situation of the state.
“Above all, the command has gathered intelligence that some hidden agents of destruction and shadow parties that planned and orchestrated the last #EndSARS violence have concluded plans to cause another set of mayhem in Lagos State and spread same to other parts of the country, tactically and spontaneously, like the recent violence.
“Premised on the available intelligence and due threat analyses carried out on the planned protest, the command perceives such proposed protest as a calculated attempt to cause pandemonium, brouhaha, and massive destruction of lives and properties under whatever guide and such will not be allowed in Lagos State.
“The Command also warns that adequate arrangement and deployment of security forces to kick against and dislodge any violent protest, gathering, and procession in any part of the state has been emplaced. The decision of the command in this regard is in the interest of all and sundry in Lagos and to ensure that the statutory responsibilities of the Nigeria Police Force are not compromised.
“I, therefore, appeal to the general public, particularly parents and guardians, to discourage and warn their children and wards to ignore any unreasonable call or mobilization for protest or gathering which runs against the existing peace and security situation of the state.”