#JusticeforMohbad: What Happened At Lekki Toll Gate – Nigerian Police
On Friday, September 22, 2023, hours after the candlelight procession for Nigerian musician Ilerioluwa ‘Mohbad’ Oladimeji Aloba, the Lagos State Police Command, in a statement, said that news circulating on social media about a shooting at the Lekki Toll Gate allegedly by the Nigerian police is false.
“The Lagos State Police Command is fully aware of false narratives circulating in relation to the dispersal of crowds at the Lekki Toll Gate on September 21, 2023,” the statement, signed by Benjamin Hundeyin, reads in part.
Since his demise on September 12, 2023, controversies have surrounded the death of Mohbad. Yesterday, the Nigerian Police said that the autopsy on his body has been completed and the results will be released on a later date.
On Thursday, Nigerians held a candlelight procession at Victoria Island for the deceased singer, which was attended by David ‘Davido’ Adeleke, Folarin ‘Falz’ Falana, and Zlatan Ibile.
However, after the procession concluded as planned at Muri Okunola Park, the police stated that some individuals gathered at the Lekki Toll Gate with “intentions that were not aligned with the #JusticeforMohbad initiative.”
“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 tear gas. Not a single live round was fired! The police adopted crowd management best practices in engaging the unruly crowd. No lives were lost, neither was there any injury,” Hundeyin said.
The incident at the Lekki Toll Gate is coming a month before the third anniversary of the Lekki Toll Gate where peaceful protesters were shot and killed by the Nigerian police during the EndSARS Campaign on October 20, 2023.
