Benjamin Hundeyin, the Police Public Relations Officer for the Lagos State Police Command, has provided an explanation for why members of the Nigerian Police Force used tear gas at the #EndSARS memorial procession on Thursday at the Lekki toll gate.
In a Channels TV interview, Hundeyin indicated that the procession had paused and that the toll gate was becoming more congested. He claimed that in order to clear the gathering and ease traffic in the area, the police had to use tear gas.
The procession was held to commemorate the deaths that occurred two years ago on October 20, 2020, at the #EndSARS protest, when security personnel allegedly opened fire on unarmed, peaceful demonstrators who had gathered at the toll gate.
According to reports, the police had said there would be no issues as long as the procession did not halt, adding that it was agreed that the demonstrators would continue to go.
According to Hundeyin, several troublemakers tried to disturb the peace, so the police intervened.
He said, “Everything was going fine until they stopped and started laying the coffins on the ground and all. They were doing all these and traffic at the toll gate was building.
“We needed to ensure that there was free flow of traffic in the area, because the agreement was that the procession would not stop, that was why we fired tear gas. After the crowd was dispersed, no single canister of tear gas was fired again.
“Right now there is free flow of traffic in the area and calm has been restored.”
When the PPRO was asked about the protesters that were locked up in the black maria truck he said they had all been released.
He said, “Some trouble makers wanted to breech the peace in the area so they were picked up and locked up in the van. But after everything had calmed down and the protesters dispersed they were all released. I can confirm that we have no one in our custody at the toll-gate now.”
