Police: Why we dispersed Mohbad’s sympathisers at Lekki tollgate with teargas

The Lagos police command has confirmed that a crowd of mourners of Ilerioluwa Aloba, the late Afrobeats artiste known as Mohbad, were dispersed on Thursday at the Lekki tollgate with teargas canisters.

Following the death of the artiste, fans and supporters have taken to the streets to demand justice.

Protests and mourning processions were held across the country in tribute to the late singer.

On Thursday, a candlelight procession was held at the Muri Okunola Park in Lagos to honour Mohbad.

Among the mourners were some of the heavyweights in the Nigerian music industry, including Davido, Zlatan, and Falz.

However, there were reports that another group of sympathisers who gathered at the Lekki tollgate were dispersed by the police.

Speaking on the incident, Benjamin Hundeyin, Lagos police spokesperson, said the Lekki tollgate crowd was dispersed because the group had brought vehicular movement on the route to “a total standstill, leading to traffic build-up”.

Hundeyin, who posted on his official X account, said the police had agreed with the organisers of the procession that the event would end at “8 pm latest”.

He added that the organisers had also agreed that the Lekki tollgate “would be a no-go area”.

“It, however, 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 intent to manifest objectives extraneous to the #justiceforMohbad initiative,” the tweet reads.

The Lagos police spokesperson said “not a single live ammunition was fired” at the crowd, and they were forcefully disbanded after hours of “appeal” from the police and the procession organisers.

“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 tweet reads.

Earlier, the police said the autopsy has been completed, adding that the results are being awaited.