By Christopher Oji
The Lagos State Police Command has called the Take It Back Movement protest peaceful. State Commissioner of Police Jimoh Moshood spoke at a press briefing right after the protesters left.
He said, “It was a peaceful protest. We didn’t apply any force, no tear gas canister and bullet were fired. There was no confrontation.”
CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, stood in for the CP. He praised the protesters. “I would like to commend the protesters for conducting themselves in an orderly manner.
They made their points, but they organised themselves in an orderly manner. No destruction of any property. We had no confrontation with each other,” he said.
He explained the heavy police presence across the state. “You can see massive deployment of police personnel all over the state. We did not deploy them to intimidate anyone, but to maintain law and order in the state and to assure the members of the public that we are alive and on top of any situation,” Hundeyin noted. The goal was to let people move freely without fear. Plus, police aimed to stop hoodlums from hijacking the protest and robbing people.
The protesters gathered early at Ikeja Underbridge. They wanted to share their anger about governance and growing citizen struggles. Carrying placards and chanting war slogans, they marched towards the Alausa Secretariat, the Lagos State Government’s seat. They showed unity and demanded change.
Their placards had bold messages. Some read, “Tinubu is a thief,” “Bring down prices of food items,” “Bring down prices of fuel,” and “National Assembly is rubber stamp.” After speaking at Ikeja Underbridge, they headed to the Lagos State House of Assembly.
On the way, they met police officers. They urged the officers to join, saying they faced the same hardships. The police only smiled and waved back.