However, on Day 2 of #EndBadGovernance protest, one of the protesters who converged on Ojota in Lagos to exercise their constitutional right of protest, said they were being tagged 'Omo Igbo' meaning that they not Lagosians, and therefore not allowed to protest in Lagos State.
Some political thugs allegedly sponsored by the government of Lagos State are reportedly threatening #EndBadGovernance protesters in Ojota, tagging them 'Omo Igbo' (Igbo children), SaharaReporters has learnt.
SaharaReporters reported earlier that the Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had had denounced a controversial post by @Lagospedia on X (formerly Twitter) calling for the expulsion of Igbo people from Lagos and the South-West.
The post, which went viral on July 27, 2024, announced a planned #IgboMustGo protest from August 20 to 30, 2024, sparking widespread outrage on social media.
In a statement released late Thursday, after former Vice President Atiku Abubakar denounced the post calling on security agencies and government of Lagos State to speak out, Governor Sanwo-Olu's media aide, Gboyega Akosile, emphasised that the governor and the Lagos State Government strongly disavow the inflammatory and divisive rhetoric.
Akosile stressed that Lagos remains a welcoming home for all Nigerian citizens, regardless of their ethnic background.
According to him, Governor Sanwo-Olu views the post as not only reckless and divisive but also a deliberate attempt to incite discord between the Yoruba people and other tribes, particularly those who have made Lagos their permanent residence.
However, on Day 2 of #EndBadGovernance protest, one of the protesters who converged on Ojota in Lagos to exercise their constitutional right of protest, said they were being tagged 'Omo Igbo' meaning that they not Lagosians, and therefore not allowed to protest in Lagos State.
A woman who gave her name as Funmilayo Ade-Ajayi, in a viral video seen by SaharaReporters on Friday morning, decried the threats and condemned police inaction.
In the video shared on X by @EAgholor71562, the woman said, "Only for to get to this place where the boys were telling us what do you come to do here. You ‘omo Igbo’, you came to Yoruba land to do this. He was threatening me. Even if I am ‘omo Igbo’, am I not a Nigerian?”
"Is that a threat, there's no any security personnel there around us. None of them is here, they have fallen back there,” she said, pointing in a direction.
“There's no security personnel here, so they want it to happen before they will now come.
"They will now say ‘End Bad Government’ people, they have started in Ojota. Is that what they want? That is why we are going to the commissioner of police there to tell him. If they are here to protect us, you will not stay back there and let us be threatened there by state-sponsored thugs.
"He is there threatening us. He threatened me life. He said ‘omo Igbo....’ My name is Funmilayo Ade-Ajayi and even though I am ‘omo Igbo’, am I not a Nigerian? Am I not entitled to protest? When has it become a crime to protest in Nigeria? Forget about your religion, forget about your ethnicity..."
Follow the Sahara Reporters channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaFClvtH5JM6SSsP7M2Y