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1 killed, many injured in Lekki tollgate protests •15 arrested •Protest politically motivated –Lagos govt •Bode George, Gani Adams react
Written by Sylvester Okoruwa and Olalekan Olabulo Sunday, 18 December 2011
IT was a bad day for residents of Lekki and Ajah axes of Lagos who came out on Saturday morning to protest against
the move by the Lagos State government to start collecting toll fees on the Lekki tollgate.
Policemen drafted to the tollgate unleashed mayhem on residents of the communities who had come protesting against the introduction of toll fees collection on the road.
Many of the protesters were beaten to a pulp while about 15 people were arrested and detained, including two photo journalists from Compass newspaper. The two journalists were detained at Maroko police station with their cameras and other equipment seized from them.
In the melee that ensued, following the brutal treatment of the protesters by men of the Lagos State Rapid Response Squad (LSRRS), one man was allegedly shot dead while many others sustained varying degrees of injuries.
What started peacefully resulted in serious casualties as the Rapid Response Officers (RRO), allegedly ordered by the commander of the squad, fired tear gas and live bullets at the protesters.
A photo journalist with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) (name withheld) told Sunday Tribune that the scene created at the tollgate was similar to that of war, as police, he said, were “running after us. I was only lucky not to be arrested as some of our colleagues were arrested in the cause of doing their legal job.”
The state government had announced today {Sunday} as the official take off of collection of tolls from users of the newly constructed expressway.
Angry residents of communities along the road, who had earlier warned the state government to shelve the toll collection idea, took to the streets defiantly and staged a protest at one of the venues of the toll collection.
The protest became more chaotic as the angry protesters defied the gun-trotting anti riot policemen, who threw caution to the winds and allegedly attacked the protesting residents.
Sporadic gun shots from the policemen also created serious panic among the protesters as well as other road users, who were not part of the protest.
Sunday Tribune also gathered that the policemen brutalised and arrested some of the protesters, who were taken to an unknown destination.
Attempts to get the reaction of the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Samuel Jinadu, on the incident was futile as calls put through to his mobile phones were not answered.
A police source at Maroko police station, who pleaded anonymity, confirmed the crisis along the expressway, but described it as “a small riot from protesters.”
Lagosians react:
Former deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, in his reaction, condemned the clampdown on the peaceful protesters, whom he said were residents of the area.
While berating the government of Lagos State “for repressing legitimate voices of the people of Lagos”, Bode George declared that “even in Russia, the government allows the aggrieved to protest.”
He declared that well-meaning Lagos people would not leave the state to “cow boys” to destroy, adding that “tomorrow (today), I will lead a greater protest in that place.”
“If they like, let them bring their hoodlums and the police. We won’t be cowed to submission. I will be there tomorrow. In civilised countries, when you put tollgate on a road, you provide alternative roads for those who may not have money to pay on the tolled road, otherwise they become prisoners in their homes. Where is the alternative road in Lekki-Epe?,” he queried.
According to a resident of the area, it is bewildering that in “a city like Lagos with the highest number of enlightened people, a few people are turning the state into a capitalist empire for them and their unborn kids.
“ As a resident of Ajah, I have to pay N150 at two tollgates to and fro each time I go to work daily, that is N600 daily, N4,200 weekly, N16,800 monthly, N201,600 annually. These exclude weekend movements, which means, on the average, I will spend N300,000 annually on tollgate. Worse still, there are no alternative routes; so, I will have to pay daily.”
Leader of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Chief Gani Adams, also condemned in strong terms the brutalisation and arrest of the protesters.
Speaking on telephone with Sunday Tribune, Chief Adams said it was very unfortunate that such a repressive action on innocent people could be witnessed, “especially in Lagos.”
He noted that instead of the state employing violence and force on the issue, it should have used dialogue, because the people have the right to resist any policy that affects them negatively.
“I feel in a democracy, people have the right to protest. A situation whereby the police are deployed to attack the people is unacceptable to the organisation, “ the OPC leader said.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State government, on Saturday, restated its commitment to maintain law and order in the state.
Speaking about the protest march, the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Aderemi Ibirogba, said while it was the fundamental right of the citizens to protest, there should never be a recourse to violence.
While expressing regrets that some journalists and media organisations were affected by the fracas which broke out at the scene of the protest, the commissioner noted that reports reaching the state government indicated that the law enforcement agents had to step in to prevent a breakdown of law and order when alleged thugs arrived the scene and fighting broke out.
According to the commissioner, the police stepped in to restore law and order and made some arrests, including a top PDP candidate who contested and lost during the last general elections, noting that the protest was politically motivated.
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News headlines
- Youths awaiting Buhari heckle Jega’s convoy •At Emir of Kazaure’s daughter wedding
- Jos house raid: Security forces uncover bomb factory •Recover deadly weapons
- Forget presidency in 2015, AYF tells Northern govs
- Power supply: NASS’ joint committee orders suspension of badly-done projects in Rivers
- JTF smashes oil theft syndicate •Impounds 36,000 litre tanker, 26 surface tanks, 300 drums of diesel
- Sambo urges Boko Haram to dialogue with FG
- Rep, PDP leaders berate LG boss over workers’ sack
- OOU’s new Pro-Chancellor cautions on strikes, extends olive branch
- Oshiomhole condemns politics of ethnicity
- Proposed FRSC scrapping: Govt lacks sense of history —Agunloye