By Boluwatife Adedokun
The Police Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin has disclosed the motive behind the tear gas firing at the EndSARS memorial procession.
In an interview on channel TV today, the PRO noted that the procession has hindered the people passing which calls for the need to take the action to stop the traffic and disperse the crowd.
The memorial procession took place at Lekki Tollgate today to mark the second anniversary of the lives that were lost at Lekki Massacre at the EndSARS protest on October 20, 2020 where security forces shot innocent protesters who gathered at the toll-gate.
The police had earlier said that there won’t be any problem as long as the procession does not stop.
Hundeyin therefore noted that some violators wanted to breach the law which engendered the police to swung into action
Hundeyin said, “Everything was going fine until they stopped and started laying the coffins on the ground and all. They were doing all these and traffic at the toll gate was building.
“We needed to ensure that there was free flow of traffic in the area, because the agreement was that the procession would not stop, that was why we fired tear gas. After the crowd was dispersed, no single canister of tear gas was fired again.
“Right now there is free flow of traffic in the area and calm has been restored.”
Hundeyin noted that the protesters that are locked in black maria had been released.
He said, “Some troublemakers wanted to breach the peace in the area so they were picked up and locked up in the van. But after everything had calmed down and the protesters dispersed they were all released. I can confirm that we have no one in our custody at the toll-gate now.”
