An aide to President Muhammadu Buhari on Social Media, Lauretta Onochie, has commended the Nigeria Police Force over what she described as the professional conduct of its operatives on Saturday.
In a series of tweets on Sunday, Onochie said nobody was hurt during the #OccupyLekkiTollGate protest in Lagos yesterday.
“Kudos to the @PoliceNG for the professional manner it operated at Lekki yesterday. Nobody was hurt,” she tweeted.
“Best of all, no police officer was killed nor roasted and eaten. We must applaud you for doing well so that you can take our criticisms of your shortcomings in good faith. Thank you.”
The protest was in reaction to the decision of the Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution to return control of the Lekki Toll Gate plaza to its owners, the Lekki Concession Company (LCC).
The toll gate had been one of the major converging points for the protesters in Lagos last year and was also the location for the infamous #LekkiShootings, masterminded by security operatives particularly men of the Nigerian Army.
However, the Lagos State Police Command arrested a popular comedian, activist, Debo Adebayo, popularly known as Mr Macaroni and other protesters who had converged in Lekki against the government’s directives not to hold any demonstration.
The comedian kicked against the clampdown, wondering if Nigeria is practising the military regime.
“Na military regime?” Mr. Macaroni said after his arrest, on an Instagram Live while in a police van. “If na military, make we know sey na military, so make everybody dey hide.”
His phone and that of other protesters were later seized by the police, ending his Instagram Live session. Later on Saturday, a video clip surfaced on social media, of Mr. Macaroni half-naked and sweating in a bus choked with other arrested protesters.
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