Rihanna Fenty, Barbadian singer, has condemned the arrests of some protesters who gathered for the #OccupyLekkiTollGate demonstration in Lagos.
The singer simply wrote on her Twitter account, “Peaceful protest is a human right!! #EndSARS.”
This was in response to a tweet by the verified Amnesty International Nigeria Twitter account, which stated, “Amnesty International was informed that several protesters were arrested and have been detained. Several sources, including video evidence, tell harrowing stories of widespread use of torture and other ill-treatment against detainees. #EndSARS #LekkiTollGateProtest.”
Rihanna also showed solidarity to the protest by retweeting another post by Amnesty International Nigeria, which read, “Nigerian authorities must: #EndSARS — Immediately end the violent police crackdown against peaceful protesters; — Immediately release all the people arrested solely for exercising their rights to peaceful protest. #Lekkitollgate.”
On Saturday morning, several youths had stormed the Lekki tollgate to protest against the decision of the Lagos judicial panel to grant approval to the Lekki Concession Company (LCC) to resume operations at the tollgate.
The protest was, however, met with opposition from the security operatives, leading to the arrests of several demonstrators including Mr Macaroni.
The development has continued to generate backlash on social media, with many Nigerians slamming the federal government for clamping down on peaceful protesters. (Thenigerialawyer)