By Christopher Oji
It was hectic for protesters gathered yesterday at the Lekki Tollgate, Lagos, to commemorate the shooting by soldiers of their comrades on October 20, 2020, as the police were tear-gassed them.
The police also arrested 24 of the protesters, who they took to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba.
Many were injured during the stampede that ensued when protesters ran for safety.
However, Lagos State Commissioner of Police ordered the release of those detained by the police.
In a statement at the weekend, Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed that protesters who were arrested in the early hours of Sunday had been released.
He disclosed this on his official X page, noting that the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Olanrewaju Ishola, was present to oversee their release.
Hundeyin said: “All protesters in our custody have been released. CP Olanrewaju Ishola was on the ground at the SCID to personally ensure this.”
A senior police officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity also said that 24 protesters were arrested but have been released by the orders of the CP.
In a viral video, the protesters claimed they were beaten by the police for simply assembling at the tollgate in remembrance of the events of October 20.
Also confirming the release, the national spokesman for the Youth Rights Campaign (YRC), Hassan Taiwo Soweto, noted that the Lagos State Commissioner of Police personally visited Panti Police Station, where the protesters were held, to facilitate their release.
Soweto said: “We have just been released after the CP came to Panti Police Station, pleading hypocritically. The whole brutalization, assault and arrest occurred in his presence.
“Obviously, this is not the last we will hear of this. Many of us are injured. One comrade had blood gushing from his nose. Two comrades, a male and a female, were sexually molested. A male comrade was stripped naked. We had to find a rope to hold his trousers to preserve his dignity.
“I had my clothes torn by a police officer, Nnadi James, at Panti Police Station. This violation of our rights and the brutality on a day set aside to commemorate a brutal massacre four years ago cannot be tolerated.
“We want justice. We won’t stop until we have it. As for the struggle against Tinubu’s anti-poor policies, this assault won’t dissuade us. The struggle continues until victory.”
Lending his voice to the issue with a tweet, presidential candidate of the African Action Congress in the 2023 election, Omoyele Sowore, said the protesters were arrested at the Lekki Tollgate and were beaten up before being thrown into a Black Maria van.
Sowore noted that security operatives moved the individuals to SCID, Panti.
Additionally, an X user identified as Frednardo da Vinci, tweeting as #obinnafrednardo, posted a video showing some individuals chanting solidarity songs in a moving vehicle: “We have just been arrested at the Lekki Tollgate where we marched to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the victims of #EndSARS.”