The Federal Government and the police on Thursday gave strong warnings to youths, who planned to protest at Lekki toll gate, Lagos on Saturday.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said government would not allow any further resort to violence in the name of #EndSARSprotest.
Mohammed, who stated this during a press conference in Abuja, admitted that peaceful protests are the constitutional rights of Nigerians. According to him, violent protests are not.
In the text of the briefing tagged ‘Perpetration of violence under the guise of #EndSARS: Never again – FG,” he said the chances that any peaceful protest would be hijacked at this time were very high.
The minister claimed that based on the intelligence at the disposal of the Federal Government, some Nigerian activists had linked up with others outside Nigeria, “including subversive elements”, with a view to destabilising the country.
Also, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu on Thursday said security forces have been deployed to dislodge any violent protest, gathering and procession in any part of the state.
He warned that the purported #OccupyLekkiTollGate protest slated for Saturday has been banned and that the security forces would descend heavily on violators.
At a news conference in Lagos on Thursday, Odumosu said that organising any protest in furtherance of the recent violent and destructive EndSARS protest would be counterproductive to the ongoing series of inquiries and investigations into many cases related to the EndSARS violence and the present security situation of the state.
“Above all, the command has gathered intelligence that some hidden agents of destruction and shadow parties that planned and orchestrated the last EndSARS violence have concluded plans to cause another set of mayhem in Lagos State and spread same to other parts of the country, tactically and spontaneously, like the recent violence.
“Premised on the available intelligence and due threat analyses carried out on the planned protest, the command perceives such proposed protest as a calculated attempt to cause pandemonium, brouhaha and massive destruction of lives and properties under whatever guide and such will not be allowed in Lagos State,” he warned.
He said Lagos State, its people and the Nigerian nation at large were still groaning (in pains) for the aftermath of the last EndSARS violence that left many lives and properties lost, saying it is therefore not reasonable to allow same to repeat itself in the state.
“More expedient why such gathering should not hold is the prevailing Covid19 virus which is rampaging in the country. You will all recall four days go, the Federal Government Task Force on Covid-19 declared that the country now has 13 variants of Covid-19 virus which makes it more deadly.
“With this development, all hands must be on deck to halt the spread of the virus by self-complying with its protocols major which is maintenance social distance. In addition, the judgement pronounced on the reopening of the Lekki Toll Gate plaza has been misconceptualized by the EndSARS agitators,” he added.
