Lagos police: Security forces will dislodge any protest at Lekki tollgate

Hakeem Odumosu, the Lagos commissioner of police, has warned that the command will resist any planned protest in the state.

Odumosu said this on Thursday while addressing journalists on the #OccupyLekkiTollGate protest scheduled for Saturday.

He said the command had gathered that some “hidden agents of destruction” were aiming to carry out violence and the police will act accordingly to forestall the break down of law and order.

“Permit me to state in clear terms that 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,” he said.

“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 Lagos state, its people and the Nigerian nation at large are still groaning (in pains) for the aftermath of the last #EndSARS violence that left many lives and properties lost. It is therefore not reasonable to allow same to repeat itself in the state.”

The commissioner added that another reason why “such gathering should not hold is the prevailing COVID-19 virus which is rampaging in the country”.

He said no protest will be allowed in any part of the state, noting that “the security of lives and properties of the government and the good people of Lagos state is paramount and not negotiable”.

The commissioner said there is adequate arrangement in place to deploy security agents to dislodge any protest.