#OccupyLekkiTollGate protesters were on Saturday attacked and arrested by the police in Lagos State.
According to SaharaReporters, the protesters were arrested around 7:50 am.
“Why are you after us.
We have a right to protest. I could have been crushed by a car as the police
were running after me for protesting,” one of them was heard saying as the
police manhandled him and forced him into a white Hilux van to an unknown
destination.
The plan to #OccupyLekkiTollGate came after the controversial ruling of the
Lagos Judicial Panel of Inquiry to reopen the Lekki toll gate.
The panel, headed by Doris Okuwobi, a retired judge, on Saturday ruled in
favour of the Lekki Concession Company, LCC, to repossess the toll plaza for
repairs and insurance claims.
The ruling was supported by five members out of the nine-man panel, with four
other members, including Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria
(SAN), and the youth representatives dissenting to the ruling.
Despite the dissenting ruling, the Lekki Toll Plaza has been handed over to LCC
for reopening.
State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu said ‘security agencies would not
fold their arms’ as youths plan fresh protests against police brutality and
extortion.
The police boss said such demonstration, whether peaceful or violent, would not
be allowed to take place as the government and people of Lagos still nurse the
wounds of the recent #EndSARS violence that wreaked havoc across the state.
