The Lagos State Police Command acted as both attacker and protector of dozens of people who took to the streets to protest against President Muhammadu Buhari's government on Saturday, June 12, 2021.
Many Nigerians all over the country trooped out to stage demonstrations against the government's handling of the country, with many demanding the president's resignation.
Shortly after the Lagos protest commenced around 8 am at the Gani Fawehinmi Park in Ojota, Lagos, protesters were attacked with teargas by officers of the Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) of the Force.
The teargas canisters were fired after protesters refused to stay immobile on one side of the road as instructed by a team of police officers who warned them that hoodlums were going to hijack the demonstration.
The teargas attack dispersed many of the protesters around 8 am, and at least three people were arrested by officers but were later released on the orders of the Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu.
Protesters soon started converging again an hour later, but were almost immediately harassed by people who claimed to be union workers at the Ojota Park.
The union workers chased the protesters from the vicinity of the park, and harassed journalists covering the protest, while police officers stood by and later had a brief meeting with them.
Another attempt by the protesters to converge yet again around noon was immediately squashed by the union workers who once again threatened to smash personal and press cameras covering the demonstration.
The tide started turning in favour of the protesters after a team of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) mobilised heavy presence to the scene and instructed the union workers to allow protesters demonstrate peacefully.
When he visited the scene later around noon, CP Odumosu said protesters were violently dispersed in the morning because they were blocking the road.
"We just wanted the road to be liberated for people to move. You know Lagos is a commercial centre, anything that happens in Lagos now doesn't stop in Lagos," he said.
Odumosu also advised protesters to always inform authorities before embarking on protests, not to seek permission, but to notify them so that they can be provided with security.
He instructed his officers to not engage violently with protesters and allow them demonstrate in peace, an order that rejuvenated the protest once again.
Protesters chanted songs calling for President Buhari's resignation, marching from Ojota to Maryland and back again to the Gani Fawehinmi Park on Saturday evening, accompanied by numerous Police vehicles to crush speculated hijack by hoodlums.
The protesters lamented the state of the country, especially the government's poor handling of the terrible economy, and escalating insecurity.
Speaking at the protest around noon, online comedian and Nollywood actor, Debo Adebayo, aka Mr Macaroni, warned that there's no reason for the government to militarise peaceful protests.
He said, "The government is quick to always think that Nigerians are fighting them, like it's a war. We don't have their guns, all we have is our voice.
"This government does not want any form of criticism. There's nothing more to it than dictatorship."
Fakolade Bunmi, a resident of Ojota, complained about the initial heavy-handed response of the police officers against the unarmed protesters.
She said the nation's economic woes affect everyone, especially the poor, and that peaceful protests should not be criminalised.
"We're suffering here. Garri that no one recognises anywhere before has turned into gold.
"They want to kill the poor. We're just managing ourselves, suffering," she said.
Protesters eventually dispersed just before 5 pm, but told RRS Commander, CSP Olayinka Egbeyemi, they'll be back to continue on Monday, already declared a public holiday to mark June 12, Nigeria's Democracy Day.