June 12 Protest: ‘Disregard Sit-At-Home Order’ -Police Tell Lagos Residents
The Lagos State Police Command says it is not aware of any planned protest in Lagos State to commemorate the 2021 Democracy Day on Saturday, June 12, 2021.
The Command, in a statement by its spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, also urged Lagosians to disregard the sit-at-home order called by certain groups, adding that security agencies have made necessary arrangement to maintain law and order across the state, The PUNCH reports.
The statement was titled, ‘June 12: We Are Not Aware Of Any Planned Protest In Lagos—Police’. The statement read,
“The Lagos State Police Command wishes to state clearly that it is not aware of any planned protest in Lagos State to commemorate the 2021 Democracy Day on Saturday, 12th June, 2021.
“In this regard, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, CP Hakeem Odumosu, therefore appeals to members of the public to disregard any sit-at-home order called by certain groups which is being circulated in the social media and go about their lawful businesses as the police and other security agencies have made necessary arrangement to maintain law and order across the state.”
Adejobi added that Odumosu on Friday, “formed special Squads to go after traffic robbers who have been terrorizing innocent Lagosians and get the state rid of such miscreants”.
“CP Hakeem Odumosu equally released some crime fighting equipment and modern communication gadgets to the Squads for efficiency and better service delivery as some of the identified areas like Eko Bridge, Apongbon, Cele, Ijora, Ojota/7up, Mike 12, Surulere etc, must be cleared of miscreants and traffic robbers with immediate effect.
“While assuring the general public of adequate security of lives and property in Lagos State, the Commissioner of Police, reiterated that police personnel in the command will religiously discharge their duties within the ambit of the law,”
the PPRO said.
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Several Nigerians, including organised groups such as agitators for Yoruba Nation have called for peaceful rallies across Nigeria against bad governance and insecurity on June 12, Democracy Day .
Nigerian youth in different states also teamed up to coordinate the June 12 peaceful protests. The protest, according to reports is expected to hold in states including Lagos, Kano, Oyo, Osun, Cross River, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti, Abia Akwa Ibom, Delta and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
While right to peaceful assembly is a fundamental human right, the Nigerian government under Mr Buhari has been known in the past to crack down on such gatherings deemed confrontational by state officials.
June 12 is a day set aside by the government to celebrate the restoration of democracy in the country.
It was a day in honour of Moshood Abiola, the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, who later died in military detention.
In 2018, Muhammadu Buhari, the President of Nigeria moved Democracy Day from its earlier May 29 date to June 12.