Facts have emerged on how some opposition figures within the Labour Party made failed attempts over the weekend to instigate fresh #ENDSARS protests in Lagos, using a leaked memo aimed at seeking approval for the cost of burial for all unclaimed corpses picked up on the streets of Lagos in the last quarter of October 2020. The opposition forces were said to have reasoned that the leaked memo, coupled with the tension in the country over the rising cost of living following the removal of fuel subsidy, were the only objective conditions they needed to instigate fresh protests and destabilize the Tinubu administration ahead of the verdict of the Presidential Elections Tribunal.
According to a security source who spoke to newsmen in Lagos on Tuesday on condition of anonymity, renowned political economist and chieftain of the Labour Party, Prof. Pat Utomi, was said to have convened a virtual meeting of some opposition forces over the weekend to hatch a plot to stage sporadic protests in different parts of Lagos. The plot ostensibly used the leaked memo, purportedly insinuating plans by the Lagos State government to “secretly bury” some unclaimed corpses not buried since the year 2020. The source disclosed that one of the security agencies, known for its adept use of technology for bursting crime, intercepted the link being shared by the convener of the meeting and used technology to duplicate the attendance of one of the participants to gain access to the meeting. “I can tell you for free that through the use of technology, the security agency in question listened in on the meeting and recorded all the proceedings,” the source added.
Those reported to have attended the virtual meeting included #ENDSARS activists such as Dele Farotimi, Aisha Yesufu, Omoyele Sowore, Folarin Falana, Rinu Oduala, Deji Adeyanju, Obianuju Catherine Udeh, also known as DJ Switch, and Debo Adedayo, popularly known as Mr. Macaroni. Others in attendance at the meeting were said to have included the founder of the #ENDSARS movement, Barrister Segun Awosanya, popularly referred to within the social media community as Segalinks; Charles Oputa, Aghedo Kehinde Stephen, and Deborah Adeyinka. The Executive Director of Enough is Enough, Yemi Adamolekun, was reported to have sent her apologies to the convener of the meeting over her inability to join the meeting due to conflicting engagements.
The source further disclosed that, aside from the attendance of the league of opposition forces known to have participated actively during the #ENDSARS protest, it was the presence of vocal Pentecostal clergy, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo of the Trinity House Church, that was considered by the security agents to be intriguing and making him “a person of interest” to the security agency.
“The security agents are now connecting the dots and working on the theory that the surprise appearance of Pastor Ituah Ighodalo at the Lekki Toll Gate protest ground in October 2020 and his trending social media outburst in 2022, lampooning Bola Tinubu for nursing a Presidential ambition, may have been more than mere isolated occurrences. They point to his likely involvement in funding the protests which led to the destruction of public assets running into billions of naira in Lagos. They may expand what is called ‘the follow the money theory’ to check if his church funds were cleverly moved to fund the protest, especially if Ighodalo did not use his personal bank accounts to bankroll the protest.”
Participants in the plot were, however, reported to have failed to reach a consensus on the proposition that sporadic protest actions be staged immediately in volatile parts of Lagos now that the mood of the public is said to be tensed over the rising cost of living, despite the assurances that Pat Utomi and Pastor Ighodalo would raise the needed funding for the insurrection. Pat Utomi was reportedly disappointed at the seeming reluctance of Folarin Falana, who is known to be suspicious of the motive of the obidients, to agree to lead the other younger elements in fresh rounds of protests proposed. They were said to have therefore adjourned the meeting in frustration, having failed to reach a consensus, with a rather weak understanding that they should monitor development over the next few days and reconvene to take a stand in the coming days.
