Policemen stationed at the Lekki toll gate area on Thursday fired teargas canisters and water cannon at participants of the second memorial of the #EndSARS protest.
In an interview with Channels Television, the spokesman of the Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, said some of the participants were “unruly” and climbed the top of the toll gate.
He said, “That was not needed. You are doing a procession, just walk past. But these people now stopped there and climbed on the toll gate, becoming a nuisance, threatening to break down the existing law and order.
“We can’t stand there and watch them misbehave. The least we could do was to use teargas, any other thing apart from teargas will be more harmful.
“There is no record of injury. We only did our job and faced those who were unruly.”
Some of the participants at the procession include popular comedian Debo Adebayo, also known as Mr Macaroni; and musician Folarin Falana, better known as Falz.
According to the organisers, the procession was to commemorate the second anniversary of the #EndSARS protest against police brutality and extrajudicial killings that rocked Lagos and parts of Nigeria in October 2020.
Scores of fully armed police officers were seen with about 25 patrol vans at the toll gate on Thursday.
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