The Lagos State Police Commissioner Fatai Owoseni on Wednesday said he will not allow the planned protest against the Federal Government slated for February 5 to hold in the state.
Popular musician, TuFace Idibia who joined the call for protest by some concerned Nigerians over the state of the nation, had used his social media platforms to appeal to his supporters to join the movement.
But Owoseni, who had earlier stated that there was no official request from the protesters notifying security agencies of their plan, said Wednesday that intelligence report indicates that criminals might hijack the process.
According to the police chief, the command wasn’t ready for that kind of demonstration and as such would not allow it to hold.
He said no matter how good an intention is, hoodlums would always find a way to harass, rob and attack innocent members of the public, who may wish to go about their Lawful duty.
Owoseni said: “Information reaching us revealed that some hoodlums are planning to hijack the peaceful protest. And as such, we won’t allow it to hold in Lagos. We know that Tuface do not have the capacity to contain such a crowd and we will not fold our hands and watch while things go out of hand.”
At a press conference held earlier in the week, Owoseni said: “The Civil Society had said that they do not need police permission to carry out any peaceful protest, but they should also be aware that there might be those who share an opposing view. This set of persons may want to disrupt the peaceful demonstration and would want to attack demonstrators.
“This is why we advise individuals or group of persons who may wish to embark on civil demonstration to inform the police so that adequate security arrangement would be provided.”
