THE Lagos State Police Command said the nine persons arrested on Wednesday, October 2, at the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park, Ojota, were not protesters.
The state Commissioner of Police, Olanrewaju Ishola, stated this in a statement on Thursday, October 3, to debunk reports that the command arrested some #FearlessInOctober protesters.
In the statement issued by the public relations officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, the commissioner said the command had reached an agreement with all the protesting groups before the October 1 demonstration.
“It is imperative to emphasise that the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Olanrewaju Ishola, in a proactive approach, invited all protest organisers and met with civil society organisations and other organisers of the protest that attended the meeting on Friday, September 27, 2024, in his Ikeja office.
“The protest organisers cooperated with the police, gave assurances to be peaceful and of good behaviour, mentioned their route and informed the police that the protest was for October 1, 2024 only,” he said.
Ishola claimed that the October protest went as planned while the police provided security as assured.
“It is on the strength of the foregoing that the command, in good time, swooped on people masquerading as protesters at the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park Ojota. Their conduct is not only inciting but tantamount to fomenting trouble.”
The nine suspects arrested were Funmi Robert ‘m’, 60; Sunday Obasoro ‘m’, 24; Sikiru Adeagbo ‘m’, 41; Babatunde Oyeleye ‘m’, 32; Akin Okunowo ‘m’, 50; Dare Toyin ‘m’ 21; Adebayo Shobogun ‘m’ 37; Michael Adeleke ‘m’ 23; and Stanley Akonye ‘m’ 42.
The suspects were arrested with a Toyota pickup with registration number SRA 813 XB, he said.
The commissioner added that the suspects would be arraigned for conduct likely to cause a breach of peace.
On October 1, protesters stormed the streets for a nationwide protest to express their frustration with President Bola Tinubu’s anti-people policies that have made lives unbearable for many Nigerians.
The protest was against “the hardships, privations, hunger, unemployment, insecurity, and poverty” the Tinubu administration had inflicted on the country.
In Lagos, a former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, joined the protest, The ICIR reported.
He demanded that the government release all detained #EndBadGovernance and #EndSARS protesters in detention.
Amid heavy security presence, the protesters chanted “Tinubu, Sanwo-Olu (Lagos State Governor), Akpabio (Senate President) ole (thief).”
October 1 is a day set aside to celebrate Nigeria’s independence. However, protesters chose the day to express their anger against bad governance for the second time after the 10-day nationwide protest in August.