BREAKING: Police react to Lagos CP 'banning' protest against hardship, see details

• The police in Lagos have warned media outlets against heating up the polity through the kind of news they share
• Benjamin Hundeyin, the police spokesperson in Lagos, who took to his X handle on Monday, August 5, pointed out that news headlines can be deceiving
• Legit.ng reports that President Bola Tinubu has appealed for protests to end after anti-hardship protests during dayslong demonstrations over worsening cost of living crisis, but some protesters are adamant

Legit.ng journalist, Ridwan Adeola Yusuf, has over 9 years of experience covering public affairs.

Ojota, Lagos state - Peaceful protests against economic hardship in Lagos are not banned, according to the state's police command.

The Lagos state police public relations officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed this on Monday morning, August 5.

Police in Lagos said they are opposed to peaceful protests, but warned against economic disturbance in the state.
Source: Facebook

'Don't heat up the polity' - Police

The police image maker, in a tweet-reply, described a news report that said the Lagos commissioner of police (CP), Adegoke Fayaode, banned the protest after President Bola Tinubu's broadcast, as "mischievous reportage".

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Hundeyin wrote:

"How did ‘ban’ enter this matter? This is mischievous reportage."Trust the headline at your own peril. Do well to listen yourself."AIT should not join some media houses to sensationalise issues and end up heating up the polity."

Legit.ng reports that inspired by protests in Kenya in June that led to the government there scrapping some planned tax increases, some Nigerians mobilised online to demand effective governance.

Protesters demonstrated in the commercial capital Lagos, the Nigerian capital city Abuja, and several other districts to express their displeasure with economic policies that have allegedly increased hardship on the masses.

On Monday morning, August 5, CP Fayaode led his men to Ojota, the centre of the Lagos protests.

The police boss is on ground with his men patrolling the park.

Read more on Nigeria's protests

• End Bad Governance: Fear of foreign interference as protesters wave Russian flags, photos emerge
• Peter Obi reacts as '17' killed in Nigeria’s hardship protests, "struggle for a better nation"
• End Bad Governance: Pro-protest lawyer tells Tinubu what to do to ‘quell anger’

Protests: Tinubu speaks on alleged political plots

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu asked #EndBadGovernance protest organisers not to allow themselves to be 'used by a few with a political agenda'.

In a nationwide broadcast monitored by Legit.ng, the president described their actions as "violent" and expressed concern over the loss of lives, particularly among young Nigerians. He acknowledged the protesters' desire for a better country but condemned the destruction and looting that has occurred.

Source: Legit.ng