Tension enveloped the environs of Lekki, Lagos on Thursday night as police officers fired canisters at sympathisers who stormed the location to demand justice and pay tribute to late singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, known as Mohbad.
The candlelight procession was held at Muri Okunola Park in honour of the late singer.
The candlelight procession organised to honor Mohbad, who tragically passed away was graced by several fans, friends, and fellow musiciains, however, escalated into chaos as the police attempted to disperse the crowd.
But in now-viral clips, thousands of Mohbad’s sympathisers were seen scampering for safety after they were allegedly dispersed with teargas.
A voice is heard exclaiming “they are tear-gassing us; we came for a peaceful protest” — in one of the clips.
Speaking of the incident in a series of tweets, Dotun, the OAP, said the police were “wrong for disrupting the gathering”.
READ ALSO: Police Inaugurate Special Team To Investigate MohBad’s Death
The media personality also blamed the sympathisers for not applying “common sense”.
According to him, the procession had been approved to take place at Muri Okunola Park. However, some attendees continued at the Lekki toll gate three hours after the event had concluded.
“Honesty over Honesty Nigerians do not listen. We do the most. This procession ended at Muri Okunola park over 3 hours ago. We ended and all left. Some still went to converge at the Lekki tollgate,” he wrote.
“It is not a peaceful protest. It is a candle procession. These guys clearly went to the toll gate and continued.
“It’s not a right for the police to do that but people hijack these things & turn it to something else. Muri Okunola was approved & it was a peaceful candle procession. It is just common sense. The people that went home, are they stupid? Apply this thing sometimes.”
However, the Lagos state police command has said it dispersed sympathizers who gathered to mourn the death of late singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba also known as Mohbad at the Lekki Toll Gate to forestall the recurrence of the EndSARS saga.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Lagos Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, and made available on the verified page of the Lago State Police X (formerly Twitter) page on Friday.
According to the statement, there was agreement between the police and the organizers of the procession not to use the Lekki Toll Gate as a point of gathering which was adhered to during the procession but some persons later violated by gathering there.
Hundeyin noted that efforts made to persuade the sympathizers who gathered at the Lekki Toll Gate by the police and the organizers did not yield any result which forced the police to disperse them with teargas to protect lives and properties within the area.
The statement read, “Having gone down this road before, having learnt from previous similar encounters, and having studied the pattern in the crowd, the red flags and early warning signs of total chaos and anarchy were discernible. Therefore, in fulfillment of our mandate to protect life and property, maintain law and order, and prevent crimes, we adopted the least harmful method of crowd dispersal, following the failure of verbal persuasion – the use of teargas. Not a single live ammunition was fired! The police adopted crowd management best practices in engaging the unruly crowd. No life was lost neither was there any injury.”
The police spokesperson also said that the command will not tolerate any person or group that may want to use the opportunity of Mohbad’s death to disturb the peace of the state while assuring regular updates will be made available on the investigation ongoing to unravel the circumstances behind the death of Mohbad.
“The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, hereby warns mischief makers that any person or group of persons found disturbing the peace of the state, under whatever guise, would be promptly arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
“The Lagos State Police Command also appreciates the procession organizers for keeping faith with the Command and assures all supporters of #justiceforMohbad and Lagosians at large that it would continue to prioritize their safety and security at all times.
“Meanwhile, the ongoing investigation into the circumstances leading to the death of Mr Ilerioluwa Aloba is progressing well. The general public are, therefore, requested to avoid creating unnecessary distractions and give the Command the stable internal security space to undertake a conclusive and timeous investigation.
“In this process, it should be noted that the Lagos State Police Command has, as promised, been interfacing closely and regularly with all meaningful support groups of #justiceforMohbad. This synergy shall be sustained while the general public are assured that they will be continually updated on the progress of the investigation”, the statement concluded.
