Supporters of the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party Peter Obi are playing a hide and seek with the police in Lagos as the group says it has made a detour to avoid passing through the Lekki Tollgate on Saturday.
A court has ruled on Wednesday that Obidients as Obi’s supporters are called, cannot only pass through the gate but must not converge on the area.
They have therefore said the procession will now pass through Admiralty Way and make a deetour at Marwa Roundabout without passing through the controversial location.
However policemen deployed by the Lagos Command have taken over the area and other strategic locations in the state.
In a statement on Friday, Lagos police command said no rally would be allowed around the Lekki tollgate.
A statement by SP Benjamin Hundeyin said “It has become imperative to reemphasize that no form of rally whatsoever will be allowed at the Lekki Toll gate tomorrow, October 1, 2022.
“This emphasis has become necessary to enlighten Nigerians that might be misled into converging on the toll gate. A court of competent jurisdiction has ruled that no person is allowed to converge on the Lekki Toll gate for whatever reason.
“In conformity with its mandate to protect life and property, the Lagos State Police Command under the leadership of CP Abiodun Alabi, fdc will leave no stone unturned in ensuring total compliance with the court order and an emplacement of adequate security in the state.
“While the Command is not averse to the peoples’ right to freedom of assembly and association; and expression, the Command will equally live up to its mandate of ensuring that no person or group of persons is allowed to infringe on the fundamental human rights of others, especially the rights to freedom of movement and right to dignity of human persons, especially under the guise of rally or procession.
“The warning therefore goes that anyone found flouting the court order or infringing on the rights of other Nigerians will be dealt with in accordance with the law.”