On Sunday, suspected hoodlums dispersed #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protesters at the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park in the Ojota area of Lagos State.
The protesters had gathered for the fourth consecutive day of demonstrations against poor governance in Nigeria.
In a video shared on X, hoodlums wielding clubs were seen threatening the protesters, warning them to leave the designated protest ground or face severe consequences. The assailants were reportedly angered by the continuation of the protest despite President Bola Tinubu’s nationwide broadcast urging an end to the ten-day protest.
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A voice in the background of the video said, “All the police have run away. Start the car!” The dispersal occurred as protesters listened to an address by the police while chanting solidarity songs. Witnesses stated that the hoodlums appeared from the opposite side of the road, forcing the protesters to flee.
One protester shared, “The Ojota ground is empty as area boys have chased away the few protesters that gathered early on Sunday after the nationwide broadcast of President Bola Tinubu’s address. Although there were about 50 people that had gathered at the time, the hoodlums came with canes and chased us away while police and other security personnel were still there.’’
The protesters had been divided over whether to continue the demonstration. A group called Peace Action Transformation insisted on staying at the protest ground, defying appeals to end the protest following President Tinubu’s plea.
Before the dispersal, one of the protest conveners, Hassan Taiwo Soweto, accused the Lagos police of being diplomatic with the pro-protest group. His claim was supported by Lagos Sheriff Sholagbade of the Amilcar Cabral Ideological Movement, who remarked, “The police appeared to be on our side, but they were not. The constitution recognises that we have freedom of movement and peaceful assembly without any definition of where you are to assemble or what we are to do when we gather. We don’t want anybody to gag us into doing what the state government wants. Our interest is to have a peaceful protest. Our interest is not for anything to be destroyed, vandalised, or for loss of life.”
