The Lagos State Police Command says it has released all demonstrators who were arrested in the early hours of Sunday, during #EndSars commemoration at the Lekki Toll Gate.
The Command’s spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed this via a post on his X handle, stating that Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Olanrewaju Ishola, personally oversaw the process.
“All protesters in our custody have been released. CP Olanrewaju Ishola was on the ground at the SCID to personally ensure this,” Hundeyin wrote.
A human right lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, also confirmed the release of all those arrested at the Lekki Toll Gate by the police.
In a post on his X handle, Effiong also confirmed that all the items seized from the demonstrators were returned to them.
The lawyer wrote, “We have secured the release of all the 22 activists who were arrested this morning at the Lekki Toll Gate while commemorating the 4th anniversary of the Lekki massacre.
“We had a discussion with the Commissioner of Police who came over to the State CID in respect of the matter. The items seized from the protesters were also returned to them.”
The demonstrators were arrested as they gathered to mark the fourth anniversary of the October 20, 2020, Lekki Toll Gate shooting, where peaceful protesters were killed during the EndSARS demonstrations against police brutality.
The youths were said to have gathered around 8:30 am at the toll gate with several banners and placards.
They demanded the full implementation of the reports submitted by various judicial panels of inquiry set up after the 2020 protests.
‘Illegal protest’
The police had said that the protesters did not write to seek police clearance and permission before embarking on the rally.
“Constitutionally, they should write to me as the Commissioner of Police of their intention to do so (protest), they did not write to us and as such, any of such gathering is illegal and by extension, police will not allow it to happen,” the State Police Commissioner, Olanrewaju Ishola, told Channels Television.
The CP explained that the police authorities were not unmindful of citizens’ constitutional rights but stressed that while exercising their rights, they must prioritise the laws of the land over other considerations.
‘Police beat, brutalised us’
Meanwhile, the demonstrators accused the police of brutalising them during the memorial procession on Sunday.
“We are protesters who wanted to mark the anniversary of #EndSARS but were apprehended by a group of policemen under the leadership of the commissioner of police,” one of the protesters said in a video earlier posted on X by Inibehe Effiong.
“I am right here speaking to you from a Black Maria brutalised and beaten by the police, my glasses were taken away from my eyes by a police officer without any provocation.
“We are asking today when it has become illegal to protest in this country.”
International rights group, Amnesty International, in its statement earlier, condemned the arrest of protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate.
“Amnesty International condemns the Nigeria police for the violent attack on people who assembled at Lekki Toll Gate to honour peaceful protesters killed during the #EndSARS protests against police brutality in October 2020. The reckless use of tear gas and arrests are unacceptable,” the group said on X.