….Lagos govt warns protesters

The Federal Government has said it will not allow the destabilization of Nigeria and the perpetration of violence in the country under the guise of #EndSARS protest.

This was stated by the Minister of Information and Culture , Lai Mohammed, at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday ahead of a planned protest at the Lekki tollgate in Lagos on Saturday .

Mohammed said Nigerian activists have linked up with their foreign counterparts , including subversive elements , with a view to destabilising the country.

This is contained in a text of his speech from the conference shared on the official Twitter handle of the Ministry of Information and Culture, titled ‘ Perpetration of Violence under the guise of EndSARS: Never again – FG . ’

The Minister was quoted to have said , “ As you may be aware, some EndSARS proponents have given notice of their plan to return to Lagos – Lekki Toll Gate to be specific – on Saturday , February 13th 2021.

“ The ” Occupy Lekki Toll Gate ” flyers have been circulating online , with the proponents threatening that ” Lagos will burn ” again .

“ Let me be clear: While peaceful protests are the constitutional rights of Nigerians, violent protests are not. At this time , the chances that any peaceful protest will be hijacked are very high .

“ Based on the intelligence at the disposal of the Federal Government , some Nigerian activists have linked up with others outside Nigeria , including subversive elements , with a view to destabilizing the country. We cannot and must not allow this to happen . ”

The #OccupyLekkiTollGate campaigners are kicking against the decision to reopen the tollgate under the control of the Lekki Concession Company.

The decision was made last Saturday by the Lagos Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuses.

Don’t cause trouble, Lagos warns protesters

The Lagos State Government has urged youths not to protest at the Lekki tollgate on Saturday, February 13.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Information , Gbenga Omotosho, made the appeal during an interview on Arise TV on Thursday.

Some youths had threatened to hold a fresh protest at the Lekki tollgate over plans to reopen it for operations .

It was gathered that they have begun to mobilise on social media with #RevolutionNow and #OccupyLekkiTollGate , with the matter trending as number one and three on Twitter .

Information on the online posters showed that the protest is planned to start at 7 am on Saturday, February 13, 2020.

Some of the posters have inscriptions such as “ No justice , no reopening” , and “ Occupy Lekki tollgate ” among others .
Meanwhile, some youths have also announced plans to organise a counter- protest at the Lekki tollgate on Saturday , February 13.

The counter-rally , which is trending on Twitter as #DefendLagos and #DemNoBornYourPapaWell, is to protest against protesters of #OccupyLekkiTollGate .

The poster of counter- rally shared on social media showed that it is holding at the same venue and time as the one planned by the #OccupyLekkiTollGate protesters .

But Omotosho appealed to the protesters not to “ cause trouble ” in the state, adding that there is nothing to warrant a fresh protest in the state.

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 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 . ”