The Nigerian government has vowed to resist the planned reoccupation of the Lekki tollgate Saturday, stressing that such demonstrations had the propensity of being hijacked by violent thugs.

Minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed, said at a press conference Thursday that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration would not allow a resurgence of the violence that marred the historic #EndSARS protests which rocked most parts of the country last year.

“Never again will the Federal Government allow the kind of violence that was perpetrated across the country under the guise of the #EndSARS last October,” Mr. Mohammed said.

The minister argued that although citizens had the constitutional rights to protest, there was no guarantee that the demonstration scheduled for this weekend would be peaceful.

“At this time, the chances that any peaceful protest will be hijacked are very high,” he said.

The Lekki toll plaza, a major revenue contributor to the Lagos government, has been shut since October 20 after the fatal shooting of many unarmed #EndSARS protesters by Nigerian soldiers.

A Lagos judicial panel investigating cases of brutality and the October 20 shooting incident by the army had recently voted to reopen the tollgate, to the chagrin of many Nigerians sympathetic to the #EndSARS movement.

Unhappy with reopening of the toll plaza, individuals and groups have begun mobilising for a protest on February 13.

The information minister, however, emphasised that intelligence at the disposal of the government suggests that “some Nigerian activists have linked up with others outside Nigeria, including subversive elements, with a view to destabilising the country.”

The controversial official did not substantiate his claims with evidence.

He added: “We therefore strongly warn those who are planning to re-occupy Lekki Toll Gate on Saturday to desist. We know that many of those who have been loudest on social media in advertising the plan to reconvene in Lagos on Saturday are not even in Nigeria.”

We cannot and must not allow this to happen,” Mr. Mohammed warned.

The police in Lagos have also stressed that no form of protests will be allowed to take place in the state on Saturday.

“No protest in any guise will be allowed to take place on Saturday 13th February 2021,” Lagos police commissioner, Hakeem Odumosu, told the Punch Thursday afternoon.