2020, shows the Lekki toll plaza in Lagos State.
Police authorities in Lagos State have said no #EndSARS
protest held at the Lekki tollgate after a viral video surfaced on
social media.
A Channels Television correspondent who was present at
the toll gate on Monday also did not witness any protest.
The Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Police Command,
Olumuyiwa Adejobi, noted in a statement that the content of the
video was fake, false, and misleading.
He stated that the video was being circulated by mischief makers
to create tension and destabilise the security network within the
state.
According to Adejobi, the footage was one of the viral videos
previously released during the recent #EndSARS protests before the
Lekki tollgate plaza was set ablaze by hoodlums.
While urging the general public to disregard the video in its
entirety, he called for calm and asked residents to go about their
lawful businesses.
Adejobi gave an assurance that the police were prepared to deal
decisively, within the ambit of the law, with any act of
lawlessness that could lead to the breakdown of law and order in
Lagos.
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Amid calls by supporters for new protests over the government’s
failure to fully address the issues raised, the police deployed
personnel at the tollgate to prevent any form of protests.
President Muhammadu Buhari had also warned that any act of
hooliganism hiding behind lawful and peaceful protests would be
dealt with decisively to ensure peace and stability in the
country.
The toll gate is significant for being one of the major
gathering points for young Nigerians during the #EndSARS protests
in October, which was later hijacked by hoodlums and resulted in
massive destruction of lives and properties in some states, with
Lagos being the worst-hit.
On the evening of October 20, the Nigerian Army opened fire at
the tollgate in an attempt to disperse peaceful youths who were
protesting police brutality.
The shootings have attracted widespread condemnation from rights
groups and international figures, including the United Nations.
At various times, the Nigerian government and the army have
denied wrongdoing while a Lagos State judicial panel is reviewing
the facts of the shooting.
Read more https://swordpress.com.ng/2020/12/08/no-endsars-protest-at-lekki-tollgate-police-insist/
Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka has said Nigeria is not
only at war but also is in a war zone.
![image](/2020/10/lawreport.jpg")
Soyinka made this statement today against the backdrop of
large-scale insecurity in the country while launching his latest
novel, Chronicles Of The Happiest People On Earth, a book he
published at 86.
![image](/2020/10/NWLRland.jpg")
“I think we are not merely at war, we are in a war zone, ” the
literary icon maintained.
The Nobel Laureate also said there is a high level of insecurity
in the country so much so that people now sleep with one eye open
and the other closed, and cautioned that unless our leaders allow
decentralization of governance and accept that they have failed, we
might have a new set of conflagration along different lines unlike
before.
“The term, one eye open and one eye close has become a common
parlance everywhere” he said.
Asked how long it took him to write the novel, the Nobel
Laureate said it took him forever, adding that writing the book was
a problem he dealt with for many years. And he had to escape twice,
first to Senegal and then to Ghana before he could concentrate on
the book. And he actually spent about two years to write it.
“I just could not concentrate sufficiently within these
borders,” he maintained.
Asked whether he feels things have changed since independence,
the literary icon said nothing has really changed, adding that the
more things seem to be changing, the more they remain the same.
Soyinka also decried the dependence of Nigerians on religion,
adding that it reduces our humanity. He also said it is only when
Nigerians learn to reduce their total dependence on religion that
that is the only way they can habit with it. However, the Nobel
Laureate said believing in something rather than oneself enlarges
one’s humanity.
Asked again what his mood was, whether it was pessimistic or
optimistic, the Nobel Laureate succinctly said: Happiness, adding
that he takes everyday as it comes.
It was an evening of music spiced with readings of excerpts from
the book, Chronicles Of The Happiest People On Earth. Guests who
read excerpts from the book alongside the author included Somtom
Asibelibua, who read in English, French and Spanish as well as
Richard Move Damijo.
Guests in attendance included the Minister of Works and Housing,
Rotimi Amaechi, Chief, Newton Jibunoh and Professor Ebun Clark.