Police operatives have arrested popular comedian, Debo Adebayo, popularly known as Mr Macaroni at Lekki toll gate while filming with his mobile phone at the protest ground.
Macaroni joined the protest against the planned reopening of the Lekki toll gate following alleged killing of protesters on October 20, 2020.
Macaroni, a Lagos-based comedian, was arrested while filming with his mobile phone at the protest ground.
His arrest was beamed live on Instagram Saturday morning. He could be heard saying he was being taken to the police station but urged Nigerians to be calm.
“Police is your friend,” he said before his devices were promptly confiscated by officers.
In a Live Instagram before his phone and those of other arrested protesters were seized, the comedian lamented that “Lekki is under military rule.”
He said, “How did you think the reopening of tollgate is the next line of action? If you didn’t do that today, we won’t have a right to be here.
“It is a disrespect to say that you want to reopen at this tollgate. Are you spitting on the graves of the dead?
“Na military regime we dey? We also have a right to be heard. We have a right to protest peacefully.”
Another protester, Joseph Seye, said, “I am an artist. I am not a criminal. I came here to protest. It is my right. It is not a crime to protest. Why are the government treating youths this way?”
At least 13 protesters who were amongst the early participants on Saturday morning were taken into custody just before 8:00 a.m.
The Buhari administration has warned of severe consequences for anyone who took part in the demonstration after seeing it as an attempt to destabilise public peace.
A group of protesters, who tagged theirs #DefendLagos, had also planned to gather at the site at the same time, threatening the former group to stay away.
Amidst the threat of violence, the police and federal the state governments warned both groups to shelve the protests.
On Friday, armed police officers embarked on a show of force across the city, reiterating its call for protesters to stay away from the tollgate.
Details later…
