Some youths on Twitter are planning the #DefendLagos rally to counter the #OccupyLekkiTollGate protest scheduled for February 13.
The plan to #OccupyLekkiTollGate came on the backdrop of the controversial ruling of the Lagos Judicial Panel of Inquiry to reopen the Lekki toll gate.
The Doris Okwubi-led panel ruled in favour of the Lekki Concession Company (LCC) to repossess the toll plaza for repairs and insurance claims at its last sitting on Saturday.
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 opposing the ruling.
The Lekki toll gate has been shut by the panel since last October 20, 2020, when armed soldiers opened fire on unarmed protesters, allegedly killing some and injuring several others.
In addition to the #DefendLagos hashtag on the social media, the youth are also trending #DemNoBornYourPapaWell, a threat to protesters to stay away from the toll plaza.
Read Also: Reactions trail arrest of Mr Macaroni, others at #OccupyLekkiTollGate protest
“Let us protect what the destroyers left behind while we rebuild Lagos. Join the ‘Defend Lagos’ rally at the Lekki toll plaza,” read the #DefendLagos banner shared on various social media platforms.
The banner also has pictures of facilities destroyed during the violence that followed the #EndSARS protest in the state.
Read Also: #OccupyLekkiTollGate: Why Nigerians want to stage another protest
Below are some of the reactions and arguments.
Show your love for our Lagos. Get your friends and your neighbors to be there. Join The Defend Lagos Rally at the Lekki Toll Plaza on the 13th of February. We will not cede our city to criminals and insurrectionists. Lagos is our Pride.#defendlagos #DemNoBornYourPapaWell pic.twitter.com/NdRE77zHet
— O.L.U.S.O.G.A. (@olusogaowoeye) February 8, 2021
I like this latest move being employed by Lagosians & people of conscience to PROTECT & DEFEND the Economic & Territorial Integrity of Lagos against the antics of certain influencers (abi influenzas) which same EKO nurtured & brought to stardom. #EkoEgbaje #DemNoBornYourPapaWell
— Ibrahim, SHEHU 🎋agara (MHR) (@magmal11) February 9, 2021
https://twitter.com/fattylincorn01/status/1358789975412600835?s=20
The defend Lagos Rally at Lekki Toll Gate is set to kick off on the 13th of February .#demnobornyourpapawell #endsars pic.twitter.com/uiARAjxUrn
— Clacified (@clacified) February 8, 2021
Can't we true born Nigerians mobilise against these terrorists? We can't just sit back and watch these anarchists who have nothing to lose destroy our country.
— El Commandante® (@MrLekanAdigun) February 8, 2021
This is our lagos , we must #DefendLagos against arsonists and this time around #DemNoBornYourPapaWell pic.twitter.com/jGXOhW8ayB
— Engr Yasir Arafat Jubril🏗🏢🌉🛤🛣 (@oil_shaeikh) February 9, 2021
They should limit it to just e-occupation o. #DemNoBornYourPapaWell https://t.co/PZgfDPg8xf
— Sanni Olaitan (@Laitan_01) February 8, 2021
https://twitter.com/trolls_queen/status/1358876384987410432?s=20
The Lagos State Govt and/or the Nigerian Police Force will release a statement soon banning any protest on Saturday based on “security concerns” due to reports of “possible violence”.
That’s the real aim of the #DefendLagos noise. It’s all part of a bigger plan.
Write this down
— #OurFavOnlineDoc 🩺 🇬🇧 (@DrOlufunmilayo) February 9, 2021
https://twitter.com/henryshield/status/1359084807238651904?s=20
This is our lagos , we must #DefendLagos against arsonists and this time around #DemNoBornYourPapaWell pic.twitter.com/jGXOhW8ayB
— Engr Yasir Arafat Jubril🏗🏢🌉🛤🛣 (@oil_shaeikh) February 9, 2021
Me I’ll #DefendLagos
It’s a stand I have taken! Affliction WILL NOT ARISE a second time in OUR LAGOS
If these sights do not worry you, then I don’t know what to say….. pic.twitter.com/lGTTVZ84rk
— King Efiwe (@EfiweOfficial) February 9, 2021
https://twitter.com/Alaye_100/status/1359053046274211843?s=20
This is a repetition of what OBJ and Awo did during the civil war making sure Biafra soldiers never progress beyond Ore town thereby preventing Lagos the economic strength of Yoruba land as a theater of war. #DefendLagos
— Olabode O. Omomunijoye (@BodeOmomunijoye) February 9, 2021
This is how they planned to #DefendLagos again? We will #OccupyLekkiTollGate and #DemNoBornYourPapaWell to disrupt it.pic.twitter.com/Z96f1q3V5W
— Ayemojubar (@ayemojubar) February 9, 2021
In the beginning.
The #ENDSARS protest, which started as a peaceful demonstration by thousands of youths against police brutality in October, 2020, degenerated into chaos after the protests were hijacked by hoodlums who unleashed mayhem in the streets of Lagos, burning and vandalising property worth billions of naira.
The Lagos State government revealed that 27 of the burnt Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) vehicles in the Oyingbo and Ojodu Berger areas of the state cost 200,000 dollars each, while 57 of them cost 100,000 dollars each, giving a total of 3.9 billion naira as of then.
Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of the House of Representatives, shortly after the assessment visit to some of the property destroyed during the protest, had disclosed to newsmen that Lagos State would need about 1 trillion naira for the reconstruction and repair of the property and infrastructure vandalised and destroyed by hoodlums.
President Muhammadu Buhari had vowed to do whatever it would take to ensure that there was no repeat of #ENDSARS protests in Nigeria again.
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