The Ikeja branch of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) would hold a joint press conference with the leadership of Lagos Police Command on Tuesday over the planned protest by lawyers.
The press conference with the Police would replace the protest planned as a forum to speak-out against brutality of Nigerians whenever they encounter Police officers.
Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Edgar Imohimi, who will appear at the conference had earlier pleaded with the Ikeja NBA to shelve the scheduled protest scheduled for tomorrow, 20th of February, 2017.
Speaking with SaharaReporters, Barrister Adesina Ogunlana, Chairman, Ikeja NBA disclosed that he was invited to a meeting where the state commissioner of police pleaded with him to cancel the protest.
He said, “The commissioner of Police sent his men to me this morning and was begging for a meeting. Since it was an invitation, I went there with some of my colleagues. When we got there, the Commissioner pleaded that we should not hold the protest as planned, claiming that we are his neighbour. He also said that the protest would more or less scandalize the police.”
He continued, “After he finished his appeal, I told him I am a union leader and I have mobilized press and people and we took a decision which I cannot unilaterally change. After consulting with my colleagues in his office, I gave him a condition upon which we can cancel the protest which was for him to hold a joint press conference with me at the NBA Ikeja secretariat and he jumped at it.”
Barrister Adesina further explained that the arranged press conference would focus on addressing the issue of police harassment of Nigerians.
He maintained that the press conference would be holding at the premises of Ikeja branch of NBA. He also stressed that if the Lagos state commissioner of police fails to show up for the conference, the lawyers would fix a new date for the protest which no amount of pleading from any corner would shelve.
“If he comes and makes do his promise, the sensitization that we want to achieve through the protest would be achieved through the commissioner himself and if he didn’t come we would hold the conference and fix a date for another protest,” the lawyer reiterated.