The heavy presence of armed policemen around Gani Fawehinmi Park, Ojota, Lagos was no deterrent as agitators of the Yoruba nation on Saturday gathered at the park as planned.
Different songs of freedom rented the air as the agitators fly their flags, insisting that it is time to have a separate nation for the Yoruba ethnic group because they are suffering and are being marginalised.
They insist that their rallies are peaceful and had taken place in other southwestern states before Lagos State.
“We are not fighting with anyone, we just want Yoruba nation now. Give us our own nation, Nigeria is not working anymore,” one of the agitators told Channels Television.
The protesters stormed the venue in their numbers as the Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, was addressing journalists.
The Commissioner told journalists that the heavy security presence is to ensure that the protest is not hijacked by hoodlums.
“We are here because we don’t want the rally to be hijacked by hoodlums, we not chasing anybody away,” the CP told Channels Television.
Before the agitators arrived at the scene of the protest, the police said they are prepared to ensure that there is no breakdown of law and order.
However, immediately after Odumosu left, the police cannon trucks sprayed water on the protesters.
They also fired tear gas at the crowd.
The protesters, who fled the scene in different directions, regrouped at the bridge also at Ojota.
