A detachment of policemen led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, Mr. Tunde Sobulo, fired teargas indiscriminately at protesters marching from the state House of Assembly towards the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park in Ojota, Lagos.
During the march tagged, “Defy The Dictator,” the protesters converged on the? Assembly to demand the immediate withdrawal of soldiers from the streets of Lagos and the reversal of the pump price of petrol to N65.
The protesters then began to march from the Assembly Complex at Alausa, Ikeja to the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park in Ojota.
The park was the venue of five days of rallies, where various speakers spoke for five days against the removal of fuel subsidy.
But the protesters were warned by policemen not to go beyond the Assembly.
Led by a constitutional lawyer, Prof. Ben Nwabueze (SAN); human rights lawyers, Dr. Tunji Braithwaite and Mr. Festus Keyamo, the protesters? defied the police warning and continued to move towards the park.
To stop the protesters from getting to the park, the policemen fired several canisters of teargas, forcing many of the marchers to scamper to safety.
Meanwhile, the Lagos Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has filed? a legal action against the Federal government before a Lagos High Court, challenging the propriety of? the deployment of soldiers on the streets of Lagos.
The applicants are also asking the court to award them N100 million against the respondents “being special, aggravated, punitive and general damages against the Respondents, jointly and severally for their violation of the fundamental rights of the applicants.”
In the suit filed by? the Chairman of the Lagos NBA,? Mr. Taiwo Taiwo, and the Secretary of the branch, Mr. Alex Muoka,? and Mr. Ebun Adegboruwa, the plaintiff also named? President Goodluck Jonathan ,? Minister of Defence, the Chief of Defence Staff, the Inspector-General of Police, the Nigeria Police Force and the Attorney-General of the Federation as co-defendants to the suit.
The plaintiffs are therefore asking the court to? direct the defendants “to withdraw, redeploy and vacate all armed soldiers, policemen, state security services and other military officers stationed in major streets and public places in Lagos State.” No date have been fix for the hearing of the matter.