The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Jimoh Olohundare, has denied reports that police officers shot at residents protesting against the demolition of their homes, insisting that no firearm was discharged during the protest.
Olohundare spoke on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, following widespread outrage over claims that a protester was shot in the leg during a demonstration at the Lagos State House of Assembly in Alausa.
On Wednesday, groups of protesters drawn from communities including Makoko, Oworonshoki, Owode-Onirin and Oko Baba marched to the Assembly complex to demand proper relocation plans and compensation following the demolition of their properties.
Some protesters also called for justice over residents who reportedly lost their lives during previous demolition exercises.
A photograph showing an injured protester being assisted to hospital circulated widely on social media, with claims that the individual was shot by the police. Reports also emerged that some protesters were arrested, triggering condemnation from human rights groups, activists and social media users.
Reacting to the allegations, the police commissioner dismissed claims of gunfire.
“No gun was fired throughout the entire process of the protests yesterday,” Olohundare said. “What we used was the minimum force of using teargas to disperse them.”
He said police officers were deployed early to provide security and prevent criminal elements from hijacking the protest.
“We moved in on time at Ikeja Under Bridge to provide security for them so that hoodlums and miscreants won’t go in,” he said. “We equally received intelligence reports that hoodlums and miscreants, some of them carrying dangerous weapons, were already in their midst.”
Olohundare said the situation escalated when unidentified individuals joined the protest and disrupted traffic on Awolowo Way, Ikeja.
“Yesterday, unknown groups surfaced, joined the protesters and started chanting war songs and moved to the House of Assembly, blocking the entire Awolowo Way to the House of Assembly road,” he said.
According to him, the blockage caused serious inconvenience and posed risks to members of the public.
“People were trapped in traffic, people who have medical conditions. We had reports of people who fainted in their cars and they were rushed for medical help,” the police commissioner said.
While acknowledging the right to protest, Olohundare stressed that the police remain committed to protecting peaceful demonstrations.
“Protest is good. We know protest is freedom of expression and part of the essentials of democracy,” he said. “For every protest that happens in Lagos, we have police to protect it in a peaceful way. So no gun was fired.”
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