Hadiza Ibrahim
The Lagos State Police Command has explained that it used teargas to disperse a group of people who attended the late singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, popularly called Mohbad’s procession from Lekki tollgate on Thursday because they blocked the roads and caused a traffic gridlock despite persuasion from force official and other people.
The Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Command, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, said in a statement that the people in question violated the agreed terms between the Police and the organisers of the procession to peacefully end the procession and disperse at 8pm.
He added that even when the organisers “returned to the scene and joined law enforcement officers in urging the people at the toll gate to disperse peacefully” and “conveyed messages via social media platforms, urging everyone to return home and clarifying that it was not a protest but a successfully concluded procession” for hours, “some individuals remained defiant, blocking all lanes in and out of Lekki and bringing vehicular movement to a standstill.”
“It is important to emphasize that the Lagos State Police Command had a prior agreement with the organizers of the candlelight procession. The terms of this agreement stipulated that the procession was to conclude by 8 pm and terminate at Muri Okunola Park, Victoria Island. It was clearly communicated that, due to the heavy traffic on the Lekki-Epe Expressway, the Lekki Toll Gate area would not be accessible.
“However, it came to our attention that after the procession concluded as agreed, with the police ensuring optimal security throughout, some individuals began to gather at the Lekki Toll Gate with intentions not aligned with the #justiceforMohbad initiative,” he explained.
Hundeyin further said: “Taking into account past experiences, previous encounters of a similar nature, and the visible signs of potential chaos and anarchy in the crowd, the Lagos State Police Command, in accordance with its mandate to protect lives and property, maintain law and order, and prevent crimes, resorted to the least harmful crowd dispersal method after verbal persuasion had failed – the use of teargas.
“Importantly, not a single live round was fired, and the police followed best practices in managing the unruly crowd. No lives were lost, and there were no injuries. The Lagos State Commissioner of Police warns that individuals or groups disrupting the peace of the state, regardless of their intent, will be promptly arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
