The police said in Lagos on Tuesday that they had curtailed the protest by students of the University of Lagos, in the aftermath of the renaming of the institution after the late Chief MKO Abiola.
State Command’s Spokesman, Joseph Jaiyeoba said they have brought the situation under control after some students from the university took to the streets protesting its renaming.
The President Goodluck Jonathan had in his broadcast to the nation to mark the May 29 Democracy Day and one year of his administration named the university after the late Abiola, the acclaimed winner of the annulled June 1993 presidential poll.
Jonathan said the gesture was a mark of honour for the late politician’s contributions to democracy in Nigeria.
Jaiyeoba said the protest, which started as early as 9 00 a.m., was, however, peaceful.
``The students’ protest was quickly and effectively managed by the police so that it will not be hijacked by hoodlums.
``They were pacified and persuaded to return to the campus and embrace dialogue. The situation has been brought control and everywhere is now calm,’’ he said.
Police arrest 2 suspected pirates in Lagos
The police in Lagos have arrested two members of a suspected piracy syndicate which specialised in hijacking oil-laden vessels within the nation’s territorial waters, as well as in the high seas.
An investigation carried out on Tuesday in Lagos revealed that some of the pirates were based in Ogun.
It was revealed that the syndicate, which is believed to comprise 10 men, usually ferried arms and ammunition to Lagos whenever they were to carry out any operation.
The gang normally assembled at Snake Island, to collect arms which were ferried by boat from Ogun, to launch attacks on oil-laden vessels in the high sea.
Sometimes, the pirates hijacked such vessels and moved them to unknown destinations where they will siphon the crude or petroleum products and abandon the vessels.
They usually attacked the crew members before siphoning the crude or refined petroleum products from the vessels, into their own ship, after which they disappeared,’’ a reliable source who sought anonymity alleged.
According to the source, members of the Snake Island community were being accused of sea piracy by the security agencies and merchant ship owners, not knowing that the actual pirates were not from the community.
The suspected pirates currently in police net were arrested by members of the Snake Island community and handed over to the police last week.
Three AK-47 rifles were recovered from the suspects, with one automatic pump action gun," the source said.
The source disclosed that the syndicate's ring leader had yet to be arrested, adding that the suspects in custody were just errand boys who received about $4,000 dollars (about N622,800) each, per operation.
On interrogation, the suspects denied knowledge of how the products were being disposed of by their master,’’ the source added.
However, the Lagos State Police Command's spokesman, SP Joseph Jaiyeoba, who confirmed the arrests, said the security strategy of the Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, had started yielding results.
Jaiyeoba said efforts were being intensified by the command to arrest other members of the syndicate.
The Presidency last week tasked all the security agencies to focus on the sea in order to stem the rate of piracy in the nation's territorial waters.
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