The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Jimoh Olohundare, has denied reports that police officers shot at residents protesting against the demolition of their homes, insisting that no firearm was discharged during the protest.
Olohundare said this during a television interview this Thursday, following widespread outrage over claims that a protester was shot in the leg during a demonstration at the Lagos State House of Assembly in Alausa.
Recall that on Wednesday, groups of protesters drawn from communities including Makoko, Oworonshoki, Owode-Onirin and Oko Baba marched to the Assembly complex to demand proper relocation plans and compensation following the demolition of their properties.
However, reports emerged that some protesters were arrested, while a photograph from the protest showed an injured protester being assisted to hospital with claims that the individual was shot by the police.
Reacting to the allegations, the police commissioner dismissed claims of gunfire saying what they used was the minimum force of teargas to disperse the protesters, when unidentified individuals joined the protest and disrupted traffic on Awolowo Way.