By Aiyeku Timothy
The Federal Government has said it will not allow violence and disturbance of peace and order in the country under the guise of #EndSARS protests.
This was made known by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday ahead of a planned protest at the Lekki tollgate in Lagos on Saturday.
The minister alleged that Nigerian activists have linked up with their foreign counterparts, including subversive elements, with a view to destabilising the country.
This is contained in a text of his speech from the conference shared on the official Twitter handle of the Ministry of Information and Culture, titled ‘Perpetration of Violence under the guise of EndSARS: Never again – FG.’
The Minister was quoted to have said, “As you may be aware, some EndSARS proponents have given notice of their plan to return to Lagos – Lekki Toll Gate to be specific – on Saturday, February 13th 2021.
“The ”Occupy Lekki Toll Gate” flyers have been circulating online, with the proponents threatening that ”Lagos will burn” again.
“Let me be clear: While peaceful protests are the constitutional rights of Nigerians, violent protests are not. At this time, the chances that any peaceful protest will be hijacked are very high.
“Based on the intelligence at the disposal of the Federal Government, some Nigerian activists have linked up with others outside Nigeria, including subversive elements, with a view to destabilizing the country. We cannot and must not allow this to happen.”
The #OccupyLekkiTollGate campaigners are set to protest against the decision to reopen the tollgate under the control of the Lekki Concession Company.
The decision was made last Saturday by the Lagos Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuses.
