Lagos govt urges calm, warns against fresh protests

A protester raise the Nigerian national flag at a barricade mounted by potesters on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway to protest against police brutality and the killing of protesters by the military, at Magboro, Ogun State, on October 21, 2020. - Buildings in Nigeria's main city of Lagos were torched on October 21, 2020 and sporadic clashes erupted after the shooting of peaceful protesters in which Amnesty International said security forces had killed several people. Witnesses said gunmen opened fire on a crowd of over 1,000 people on the evening of October 20, 2020, to disperse them after a curfew was imposed to end spiralling protests over police brutality and deep-rooted social grievances. (Photo by PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP)

Against the backdrop of hints of fresh protests, the Lagos State Government has urged all Lagosians to shun any acts that may threaten the peace of the state, which is still battling to recover from the shock of the carnage unleashed by hoodlums who hid under the #EndSARS protests. 

The Nigeria Police have also warned that no protest will be tolerated. 

In a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, yesterday, the state government said that any protest under any guise will be disrespectful to the memory of those who died in the violence and unfair to ordinary Lagosians, who have remained peaceful, despite the hardship that the original protests sparked. 

The statement reads in part: “It is clear that the original protests, despite their good intentions, have caused more havoc than they were planned to resolve.

“The government appeals to patriotic youths to shelve any plan for a protest and join the practical efforts to find solutions to the problems that have been thrown up by the actions taken in recent weeks.” 

The government called on parents and guardians to keep their children /wards at home and ensure that they are not used as tools of destruction by enemies of the society.

It also urged anyone with grievances against the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) to approach the Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution to make their case.

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