Lagos Makoko protest: Assembly members sent Police to teargas us – Community leader
A community leader in Makoko, Lagos State, Jude Ojo, has narrated what transpired during Wednesday’s protest by residents of the area over alleged land grabbing and forceful eviction.
Speaking on ‘The Morning Brief’, a programme on Channels Television on Thursday, Ojo said the State Assembly members did not allow the protesting residents into the complex to hear from them.
According to him, the Assembly members asked them to wait to be attended to, only for them to be tear-gassed a few moments later.
He said one protester was shot in the leg.
“Yesterday was a day that I will never forget in my life. Firstly, as an evictee from Otumara community and a member of the Slumber and Dweller International, SDI, we decided to approach the government in another way whereby probably we could get attention for how our rights have been violated.
“We’ve carried out some protests in the past. It’s as if nobody’s attending to us. We’ve been having promises upon promises, but they are never kept.
“The protest started very well from Ikeja Bridge down to the Assembly gate, and the Assembly officials came to us that they would listen to us. We said no problem. That is the more reason we are here.
“Can we move into the complex, at least the field there, if you can’t have us in the office? But they said no. These are the people that come to meet us during elections. They are calling us slums. They are calling us shanties. They are calling us all kinds of names now.
“They asked us to wait that they will attend to us. The next thing we experienced was gunshot and teargas. So there were gunshots and a guy was shot in the leg. That guy was rushed to hospital,” Ojo said.
