Former presidential candidate, Oby Ezekwesili, has attacked the Nigeria Police after an Assistant Commissioner of Police in Lagos, Tijani Fatai, described the RevolutionNow protest as an unlawful assembly.

The police fired teargas at the protesters who gathered in front of the National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos, on Monday.

Mr Fatai told journalists after the protesters were dispersed that the group did not seek permission of the place from the police before gathering and therefore described their protest as unlawful.

“Their gathering is unlawful and an unlawful gathering is supposed to be discharged. We had to dislodge them because they have no permit,” Mr Fatai said.

Mrs Ezekwesili, a former education minister, in a tweet described the statement as a ‘high level of ignorance’ of the Nigerian constitution.

“I just watched a @PoliceNG official calling a gathering of citizens who came out to protest Bad Governance an “unlawful assembly”. Such high level ignorance of the Constitution and the Laws of the Land. @BBOG_Nigeria secured a judgment against such stifling of Freedom in 2014,” she said.

Armed security operatives rained teargas when the protesters started chanting solidarity songs and calling for the release of the convener of RevolutionNow movement, Omoyele Sowore.

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