Police have said they prevented the Lagos protest from being hijack.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Lagos Police Command says it prevented the June 12 protest at the Ojota area of the state from being hijacked by hoodlums.
The State Police Spokesman, Muyiwa Adejobi, explained that the hoodlums blocked traffic at the Maryland axis with the motive of attacking motorists.
Gatekeepers News had reported how men of the command who were at Gani Fawehinmi Park in Ojota, (venue of the June 12 protest in Lagos) fired tear gas at protesters.
Also, the Police officers had fired several shots into the air as part of efforts to disperse protesters at the venue.
Adejobi, however, said the “proactiveness” of the command prevented the protest from being hijacked.
The Spokesperson said, “The Lagos state police command, due to its proactiveness, averted the hijack of the rally at Ojota Lagos state when some hoodlums blocked the Maryland/Ikorodu expressway with the intent to attack motorists that got stuck in the artificial traffic congestion caused by the arranged blockage.
“The commissioner of police, Lagos state, CP Hakeem Odumosu, in his bid to forestall any act of lawlessness, had deployed adequate personnel to strategic places and arranged for show of force across the state.
“As he personally moved round the state to assess the general security of the state, visited Lagos Island, Lekki Toll Gate, Surulere, Alausa, and Ojota where he addressed the protesters on the need to be peaceful and avoid depriving other Nigerians of their human rights to free movement.
“And doing their businesses; noting that blocking the roads will only cause more harm to other innocent Nigerians and threaten the security of Lagos state.
“The Police boss engaged the protesters in a tete-a-tete for more than one hour at Ojota Lagos state assuring them of the police’s support and responsibility to provide security for them and other Nigerians.”
