Policemen have begun forcefully evicting journalists from Freedom Park and its environs in Ojota, Lagos State, where the #EndBadGovernance protests entered Day 6 on Tuesday, and watched as hoodlums assault them.
On Tuesday afternoon, the police told the journalists their gathering was unwelcome since #EndBadGovernance protesters were not at the venue. At about 12 noon, they told reporters from FIJ and other media outfits to get as far away from the location as possible.
Pressmen protested this directive and challenged the police to provide credible reasons for imposing their decision on them, but the police said the journalists were posing a threat to the neighbourhood’s peace.
When FIJ asked a policeman for clarity, he said our gathering there would constitute problems, and that journalists were attracting attention.
After the police began pushing journalists away, hoodlums emerged to take advantage of the situation and harm the retreating pressmen. As this was ongoing, the police turned away and did nothing.
The hoodlums threatened hurt the retreating journalists, and pushed them some 100m away from the ground that had hosted the protest for the past five days.
FIJ observed that while protesters failed to appear at the venue on Tuesday morning, few people had begun to appear at the venue around the time the police decided to chase journalists.
The 10-day #EndBadGovernance protest began on Thursday, and will run until Saturday August 10 as Nigerians demand policy changes to stem the tide of rising cost of living.
However, after President Bola Tinubu addressed the nation on Sunday, Adegoke Fayoade, the Lagos commissioner of police, described a continuation of the protest as illegal.
“The protest has been called off because of the President’s speech. They believe that the President has spoken, and they are looking forward to him meeting their demands,” the commissioner told pressmen on Monday.
“In view of that, there should be no more gathering here or anywhere. Any of such is considered illegal and unlawful since it has been called off and if any of such gathering exists, we are going to apply the full weight of the law.”
