The mass protest staged by the Lagos Catholic Archdiocese paralysed commercial activities as well as human and vehicular movements in some parts of the state on Tuesday.
The rally which started at about 10 am, grounded human and commercial activities in Ikeja, Opebi, Oregun, Adeniyi Jones, Allen avenue, Alausa Secretariat and the ever-busy Awolowo Way.
While many of the protesters were solemn in their expressions, others were quite agitative, with some carrying placards with inscriptions: "Life is Sacred", "No Justice, No Peace", "Give our youths jobs not guns", "Enough of this madness", "Federal Government, arrest and prosecute killers", among others.
Organisers of the protest said it was being organised in accordance with the directive of the national leadership of the Catholic Church in Nigeria which asked Catholic faithfuls in different states of the federation to stage protest rallies against incessant killings of Nigerians especially in the North Central.
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In an open letter addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari and which was signed by the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Alfred Adewale Martins, the church decried what it called, "deep displeasure over the incessant killings and general insecurity being exprienced across the length and breadth of our dear country". The letter asked the President to act as a matter of urgency.
"Mr President, it is time for you to act fast and put to rest all the insuniations being pandered all over about you. We reiterate that our call for your urgent intervention is borne out of our deep patrotism and desire to save the country from imminent crisis that could snowball into ethnic, tribal or religious war," a part of the letter read.
The letter was submitted to the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Civic Engagement, Adeyemi Olabinjo who addressed the protesters at the Lagos State House, Alausa in Ikeja. He promised to hand it over to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode who is expected to submit it to President Buhari.
