The Yoruba nation rally embarked upon by secession agitators on Saturday turned rowdy following the death of a 14-year-old girl, who was allegedly hit by a stray bullet.
Many others were also injured in the ensuing melee after the security agents fired bullets and teargas canisters to disperse protesters.
Two groups, suspected to be Oduduwa Peoples Congress (OPC) and Yoruba Nation agitators, clashed in the early hours of Monday, resulting in one casualty.
The source said police arrived the scene and shot teargas to disperse the crowd.
“Ojota is up in smoke,” a source told FIJ. “Police are shooting teargas, and one person is dead. There was a clash between OPC and Yoruba Nation.”
When FIJ called Benjamin Hundeyin, spokesman for the Lagos State Police Command, he said he did not have specific details but was aware of the clash and the police were on ground.
While the police denied the killing of the teenager, they, however, arrested scores of persons involved in the rally, which was banned by the Lagos State Government and the police.
The protesters had defied the warning issued on Thursday by the commissioner of police in the state, Hakeem Odumosu, banning the rally, but the promoters, led by the Yoruba self-determination group, Omo Ilana Oodua, insisted on going ahead with the rally.
As early as 7am, security operatives had taken over Ojota from Freedom Park in a bid to stop the rally.
The protesters, however, defied the police and mobilised to the venue, but they were met with stiff resistance from the police, who fired bullets and teargas canisters.
The protesters, as well as passersby and shop owners fled in different directions as the police dispersed them.
[ruby_related heading=”More Read” total=5 layout=1]The police later arrived Ojota in over 20 patrol vans and several Black Maria trucks.
Some of the protesters alleged that the police team, led by the commander of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), ordered that those arrested be thrown into the waiting trucks.
One of the eyewitnesses, Taiwo Olanrewaju, told our correspondent that three Black Maria trucks were filled with those arrested before it zoomed off to the headquarters of the command.
While the protest at Ojota was on, a similar fracas occurred at Tin-Can Island between the police and commercial motorcycle riders.
It was learnt that several persons sustained injuries in the fracas, while unknown number of motorcycles were seized by the policemen from the Area B command and Apapa police station.
Chukwudi Ebubechukwu, a clearing agent, said both Customs officers and agents took to their heels during the mayhem.
