Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad, RRS, of the Lagos State Police Command Wednesday fired teargas at the poor, who were peacefully protesting the demolition of their homes in Makoko and Iyana-Oworoonsoki areas of the state.
Many were also arrested, including the leader of the demonstration, an activist, popularly called Comrade Soweto.
Other protesters were also as a result of the pandemonium that ensued.
The protest, organised by Coalition Against demolition, Forced Eviction, Land grabbing and displacement in Lagos, was in solidarity with victims of demolitions carried out across the state – Makoko, Iyana-Oworoonsoki, Otumara, Owode-Onirin, among others.
The protesters had gathered under the Ikeja Bridge, Awolowo Road, Ikeja and marched through the highway, unto Alausa, Secretariat, chanting solidarity songs, before stopping at Lagos State House of Assembly Complex, where the incident took place.
The mayhem forced workers, passers-bye and protesters to flee helter skelter for safety.
The demonstrators had displayed banners with different inscriptions calling on government to save their souls.
Some of the banners read.” Lagos is not for the rich alone: A megacity can not be built on the bones and blood of the poor: End forced eviction.”
Witnesses and journalists who were covering the protest also ran for safety.
Several protesters were injured during the police crackdown, although organizers have not yet released an official casualty figure.
Blood stains could be seen on the ground around the area, confirming claims on injured persons.
“Policemen at the scene of the ongoing protest begun shooting tear gas at us to disperse protesters. Many of us are injured in the process,” one of the protesters told Vanguard.
“We have been heavily teargassed at the Lagos State House of Assembly and some of us have been arrested including comrade Soweto,” another protester claimed.
However, a police officer told the newspaper that the protesters were becoming violent, that’s why we shot l teargas into the air to restore order and sanity in the area.”
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