Lagos police boss echos Lagos govt, warns against planned #OccupyLekkiTollGate protest

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, has declared that no protest will hold at the Lekki Tollgate on Saturday, February 13, 2020.

Recall that some Nigerians have scheduled to embark on another protest following a judgement of the Lagos Judicial panel to allow Lekki Concession Company (LCC) to reopen the Lekki tollgate for operation and a counter protest have been planned. Both protests are slated for Saturday.

Following the planned protest, hashtags such as #OccupyLekkiTollgate and counter-protest hashtags such as #DefendLagos and #DemNoBornYourPapaWell have trended online.

READ ALSO: Don’t cause trouble, Lagos warns youths over planned protests

The police chief on Thursday said, “Allowing both groups to carry out their planned protests will be counter-productive.

“No protest in any guise will be allowed to take place on Saturday 13th February 2.”

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Government also pleaded with organizers of the Saturday protest to shelve the demonstrations in order to avoid a repeat of #EndSARS.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Information, Gbenga Omotosho who appeared as a guest on an Arise TV programme, The Morning Show Thursday said the state cannot accommodate another set of protests because it is yet to recover from the EndSARS protests.

He said, “We all saw what happened in October last year. How some of the iconic buildings in Lagos were razed. We saw how human lives were wasted, including policemen and nobody prays for that kind of thing to happen in Lagos again. Because of that, the Lagos State Government has been suing for peace.

“We have been meeting traditional rulers, youth organisations, civil societies, and people we think can influence things for us not to have the kind of thing that happened in October last year. As it is now, Lagos will require peace to grow our economy. We need peace for Lagosians to display their creative skills.

“Nobody wants to go back to the scene of October 2020. We are appealing to both sides not to cause trouble in Lagos. They should allow peace to reign so that we can continue to focus on the economic and social issues that are facing us.

“We have COVID-19, all manners of things that are coming up that the state government is tackling. This is going to be a big distraction. We are appealing to both sides. Lagos belongs to all of us.”

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