The EndSARS memorial attendees who were detained at the Lekki tollgate have been released, according to the Lagos State Police Command on Thursday, October 20, 2022.
Benjamin Hundeyin, the police public relations officer, claimed in an interview with Channels Television that the police only detained a few troublemakers initially before releasing them as things returned to normal.
The PPRO stated that the action was taken as part of measures to prevent a breakdown in law and order. “A few troublemakers were discovered, caught, and kept in our custody right there on the spot, but a few minutes later when normalcy returned, they were all freed.
According to him, police were only called to action when someone attempted to block the free flow of traffic; they were there to offer security and guarantee that the parade went off without a hitch.
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“Some individuals showed up to participate in a calm parade across the tollgate, and our cops were there to make sure everything went according to plan. They gave the situation the much-needed security, but a handful of them decided to halt at the tollgate after a while. Some of them were bringing a casket to the station at the tollgate, and others wanted to climb the toll plaza.
As they grew in size and began to impede traffic, we had to disperse them with tear gas; after doing so, things returned to normal, no one was detained, and everything is currently fine, according to the report I received, said Hundeyin.
When asked why the police chose to use teargas on the attendees of the EndSARS commemoration, the Lagos police spokesperson responded that they were forced to do so since some of the attendees chose to remain at the tollgate.
“You would recall that the last time there was a peaceful procession across that tollgate, not a single tear gas canister was fired because people did not stop, they just went across and passed in procession. However, this time around they began that way and there was no tear gas; the tear gas was used to disperse people who decided to stay at the tollgate and cause some sort of obstruction on the free flow of traffic, and when they were dispersed nothing was fired.
