Yeah, you read the headline right. Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni has suggested that the planned protests of February 5th will not hold in Lagos.
Owoseni claims that the protesters are yet to notify security agencies if their intentions and that criminals may hijack the protests. The police chief claims the Nigerian police force are not ready for such demonstrations and therefore cannot allow them hold. 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 also asserted that:
“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.”
Source: The Nation