Policemen, on Thursday, tear-gassed defiant #EndBadGovernance protesters at the Lekki Tollgate in Lagos.
The Lekki Tollgate, now a symbol for civil demonstrations since the #EndSARS protests in 2020, was initially deserted as protests against hunger and hardship took place across Nigeria.
However, by 11 am, protesters arrived at the Lekki Tollgate carrying placards expressing their dissatisfaction with President Bola Tinubu’s administration. They chanted solidarity songs, lamenting the widespread hunger and urging the government to take swift action. “We just want the country to be stable. People are hungry. People are dying. We are not coming to fight; we only want the government to do something,” a female protester said.
Scores of security personnel, including police officers, soldiers, and officials from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Agency, were present at the tollgate. They informed the protesters, mostly youths, about a court order restricting their gathering to the Gani Fawehinmi Park in Ojota and the Peace Park in Ketu, both in Lagos mainland.
The group of youths at the tollgate rejected the relocation and continued their demonstration until police dispersed them with teargas.
The protests, which began on August 1, 2024, and are scheduled to continue until August 10, have been organized via social media and are taking place in all states across Nigeria, including the capital, Abuja.
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