Pascal Arogorn Ibe
Dozens of protesters, under the tag #OccupyLekkiTollgate, were arrested on Saturday in Lagos as several youths defied the threat by the Lagos Police Command to stop the protest.
Daily Trust reports that there was a massive detachment of police at the Toll Plaza, along the Lekki-Epe Expressway, in a show of force to stop the protest.
The protest was against the decision of the State Judicial Panel of Enquiry to allow the reopening of the Lekki Tollgate, saying justice is yet to be served for those allegedly killed during the October 20, 2020 shooting there.
Earlier in the week, the federal and Lagos State governments warned that they would not tolerate the protest, vowing to crack down on the protesters.
Despite the threat, some of the protesters trooped out to the Lekki Tollgate early on Saturday, defying the heavy presence of security operatives led by the Commander, Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Olayinka Egbeyemi.
It was a tense atmosphere at the tollgate as the police pounced on the protesters several of whom were arrested.
Among those arrested was a famous comedian, Debo Adebayo, popularly known as Mr Macaroni.
Sources said no fewer than 30 protesters were arrested and taken to unknown locations in different police vans and Black Maria trucks.
A video shared on social media platforms showed many of the protesters, including Mr Macaroni, jampacked inside a bus with no clothes on.
Several protesters were also beaten up while some were chased away from the tollgate.
A few hours later, another group of protesters arrived the tollgate, daring the police to arrest them.
“We are all Nigerians and nobody is bigger than this country, we need justice,” one of the protesters, Dayo William, said.
Daily Trust observed that the Commissioner of Police, Mr Hakeem Odumosu, later arrived the scene to assess the situation.
However, he rebuffed media requests to give clarification on the number of people arrested.
Speaking with one of our correspondents, the President of All Nigerian Youths Reoriented Initiatives (ANYRI) and initiator of ‘New Nigeria’, Comrade Olufemi Ajadi Oguntoyinbo, described the arrest of the protesters by security operatives at the Lekki Tollgate as “uncivilized, undemocratic and unconstitutional”.
Ajadi said the deployed security operatives should have been on the ground to protect the protesters and stop any form of suspicious trick by hoodlums to hijack the peaceful protest.
It was learnt that those arrested were first detained at Area J Elemoro before they were transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba.
However, a mild drama unfolded while the suspects were being driven in a Black Maria to SCID Yaba.
It was gathered that the vehicle, which had not been serviced for a long time, broke down in the middle of the road.
A police source said those attached to the Black Maria were sighted pushing the vehicle before it eventually started again.
Our correspondent gathered that while at SCID, all the suspects, about 30 of them, were forced into another broken down truck parked at Panti.
Hours after their arrival, they were arraigned before a Yaba Magistrate Court on a three-count charge of conduct likely to cause breach of peace. The court granted bail to the protesters.
A civil society organisation, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), had earlier threatened to pursue legal action if the arrested protesters were not immediately and unconditionally released.
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