One thing the Police in Nigeria know when they used tear gas on procession goers honouring Mohbad is that they will answer to the people.
The tear gas dispersed the crowd, forcing them to scamper in different directions.
Despite video footage confirming injuries, the police are saying there were no injuries or casualties.
Explaining why they took the decision to disperse the people at the Lekki Toll gate on Thursday, September 21, the police said the crowd was unruly.
Indeed, the crowd gathered at the toll gate after a candlelight funeral procession in honour of popular singer, Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba (Mohbad). Interestingly, the procession ended at Muri Okunola Park, Victoria Island, following an agreement between the police and the organisers.
“No single live ammunition was fired. The police adopted crowd management’s best practices in engaging the unruly crowd,’’ police spokesman in Lagos State, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, stated at Ikeja.
“No life was lost, neither was there any injury,’’ he added.
See Also: Lekki: Tear Gas Fired As Mohbad’s Candlelight Procession Turns Protest (Video)
Hundeyin stressed that police were fully aware of false narratives making the rounds in relation to the dispersal of crowds at the Lekki Toll Gate on Thursday, September 21.
Claims Of False Narratives
“It is instructive to note that the police had an agreement with the organisers of the candlelit procession to end it, latest at 8 p.m. and to terminate it at Muri Okunola Park, Victoria Island.
“It became disconcerting that after the procession ended at Muri Okunola Park as agreed, with the police providing optimal security all through, some persons started gathering at the Lekki Toll Gate.
“Their intent was to manifest objectives extraneous to the #justiceforMohbad initiative.
“Being a clear violation of the laid-down agreement, the police invited the procession organisers who joined officers on ground in persuading the people at the toll gate to disperse peacefully,’’ he explained.
He added that in fulfilment of police’s mandate to protect lives and property, maintain law and order and prevent crimes, they adopted the least harmful method of crowd dispersal – the use of teargas.
This, he stressed, followed the failure of verbal and social media posts persuasion.
Hundeyin stated also that the Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Idowu Owohunwa, warned that the police would arrest mischief makers or group of persons found disturbing the peace, under whatever guise.
