Mohbad Tribute: Lagos Youths dispersed with teargas at Lekki tollgate

On Thursday night at the Lekki Tollgate, Lagos State, protesters and supporters of the late Nigerian singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, better known by his stage as Mohbad, were allegedly dispersed with tear gas.

On Thursday, the demonstrators marched by candlelight in memory of the late musician.

While announcing the protest on Monday night via the official X handle of the deceased, the management said it did “appreciate the outpouring of love from fans across the world to the ones who’ve organised events in their communities as a way to honour and pay respect to our shining light we say thank you. Join us for Mohbad’s candlelight procession and tribute concert.”

As a final act of respect and homage, the demonstrators, who were wearing white T-shirts, played and danced to the late performer's songs.

While some said the teargas cannisters were fired by police officers in the state, a video shared on X through actress Iyabo Ojo’s Instagram live video and seen by our correspondent had one of those who attended the candle light saying, “I came out for my brother, Mohbad. This is the cabman that helped me. They fired teargas. These people came from the back. We don’t know them. I don’t even know them. All the police officers were there securing us.”

Explaining further, another lady said, “We were sitting in front of the tollgate. We had a lot of police officers there. So, where the teargas came from, we don’t see it. We just saw the tear gas from the back. No car could move. It was this cab that helped us.

In the meantime, Do2dtun, a well-known on-air personality, posted the following on his X account:

Honesty over Honesty Nigerians do not listen. WE DO THE MOST. This procession ended at Muri Okunola park over 3 hours ago. We ended and all left. Some still went to converge at the Lekki toll gate. It is not a protest. It is a CANDLELIGHT PROCESSION

— Do2dtun Energy gAD (@iamDo2dtun) September 21, 2023

According to PUNCH Online, the late singer's management organized the candlelight procession, which started at 5 pm, and a memorial performance, which started at 8 pm in Muri Okunola Park.

As of the time this report was filled up, attempts to contact police spokesperson Benjamin Hundeyin were unsuccessful since he did not answer his phone or text messages.