The Lagos State Police Commissioner Fatai Owoseni on
Wednesday said he will not allow the planned protest
against the Federal Government slated for February 5 to
hold in the state.
Popular musician, TuFace Idibia who joined the call for
protest by some concerned Nigerians over the state of
the nation, had used his social media platforms to
appeal to his supporters to join the movement.
But Owoseni, who had earlier stated that there was no
official request from the protesters notifying security
agencies of their plan, said Wednesday that intelligence
report indicates that criminals might hijack the process.
According to the police chief, the command wasn’t
ready for that kind of demonstration and as such would
not allow it to hold.
He said no matter how good an intention is, hoodlums
would always find a way to harass, rob and attack
innocent members of the public, who may wish to go
about their Lawful duty.
Owoseni said: “Information reaching us revealed that
some hoodlums are planning to hijack the peaceful
protest. And as such, we won’t allow it to hold in Lagos.
We know that Tuface do not have the capacity to
contain such a crowd and we will not fold our hands
and watch while things go out of hand.”
At a press conference held earlier in the week, Owoseni
said: “The Civil Society had said that they do not need
police permission to carry out any peaceful protest, but
they should also be aware that there might be those
who share an opposing view. This set of persons may
want to disrupt the peaceful demonstration and would
want to attack demonstrators.
“This is why we advise individuals or group of persons
who may wish to embark on civil demonstration to
inform the police so that adequate security arrangement
would be provided.”
