Police declare Sowore wanted over aborted Lagos protest

The police in Lagos State on Monday declared popular human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, wanted for allegedly causing disturbance of public peace and planning to obstruct traffic.

The state police boss, CP Olohundare Jimoh, who made the declaration, also disclosed that thirteen suspected criminals have been arrested in connection with the breakdown of law and order, following the demolition of properties in the Oworonsoki area of Lagos State.

CP Jimoh, while speaking with journalists at the Oworonsoki end of the Third Mainland Bridge, vowed that the police in the state would ensure that public safety is not threatened.

For the second time in less than a week, the state Commissioner of Police deployed heavily armed policemen to different parts of the state to prevent the blocking of the road by protesters.

CP Jimoh said, “I hereby as the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Police Command, hereby declare Sowore wanted. I declare him wanted for causing disturbance of public peace and an act to commit a felony by planning and putting all the plans in motion to block the Third Mainland Bridge to cause hardship for Lagosians and other Nigerians, more especially visitors, who are transiting through this end.

“We will not allow that. We are closing in on him. Anywhere he is, he should know that we are closing in on him.

“We learnt that he was in a bus and being videoed. Why didn’t he come down? He came down in Abuja. He should come down. Wherever he is, he should report himself to the nearest police station.

“We are going to arrest him, investigate him and prosecute him.”

According to the police boss, massive deployment of police personnel had been made, not just to the Third Mainland Bridge but also to other parts of the state, where coordinated protests are likely to hold.

The police boss stressed that “This location is vital to the city’s economy and the well-being of commuters. We will not allow any action, peaceful or otherwise, that seeks to block the bridge and disrupt livelihoods.

“Any attempt to obstruct the Third Mainland Bridge is a direct threat to public safety and national infrastructure.

“Anyone attempting to disturb public peace will be arrested, investigated and prosecuted. Lagos is the heartbeat of Nigeria’s economy, and we cannot afford chaos here.

“We have arrested thirteen suspects, who are vagabonds and miscreants who wanted to cause mayhem in Lagos State.”

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