By Olasunkanmi Akoni
Pandemonium broke out on Wednesday, as men of the Rapid Response Squad, RRS, of the Lagos State Police Command, fired teargas at hundreds of residents protesting series of demolitions of buildings, particularly Makoko and Iyana-Oworoonsoki areas of the state.
Read Also: Video/Photos: Police tear-gas Lagos residents protesting Makoko demolitions
The leader of the demonstration, an activist, popularly called Comrade Soweto and some yet to be identified persons were arrested, while others sustained various degrees of injuries in the process during the melee.
The protest, organised by Coalition Against demolition, Forced Eviction, Land grabbing and displacement in Lagos, was in solidarity with victims of demolitions carried out across the state – Makoko, Iyana-Oworoonsoki, Otumara, Owode-Onirin, among others.
The protesters had gathered under the Ikeja Bridge, Awolowo Road, Ikeja and marched through the highway, unto Alausa, Secretariat, chanting solidarity songs, before stopping at Lagos State House of Assembly Complex.
The rowdy incident took place outside the Lagos State House of Assembly, Complex, forcing workers, passers-bye and protesters to flee helter skelter for safety.
The demonstrators, displayed banners with different inscriptions calling on government to save their souls.
Some of the banners read.” Lagos is not for the rich alone: A megacity can not be built on the bones and blood of the poor: End forced eviction.”
Men of the RRS who were stationed at strategic areas blocked access to the Lagos State House at about 1.30pm.
The armed security personnel, complemented by Lagos State Taskforce, shots several cannisters of tear gas to disperse the surging crowd.
As a result all the entrance and exit gates into the state secretariat were hurriedly shut to prevent miscreants invasion.
Witnesses and journalists who were covering the protest ran for safety.
The protesters were becoming violent, that’s why we shot l teargas into the air to restore order and sanity in the area,” a police confided in Vanguard.
He however, could not confirm the actual number of arrest but said a sizable number of protesters were arrested.
According to reports, several protesters were injured during the police crackdown, although organizers have not yet released an official casualty figure.
Blood stains could be seen on the ground around the area, confirming claims on injured persons.
“Policemen at the scene of the ongoing protest begun shooting tear gas at us to disperse protesters. Many of us are injured in the process,” one of the protesters told Vanguard.
“We have been heavily teargassed at the Lagos State House of Assembly and some of us have been arrested including comrade Soweto,” another protester claimed.
As of press time, 3.pm, armed security men were seen patrolling the area to maintain peace and orderliness.
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