Ahead of the planned commencement of toll collection on Lekki-Epe Expressway today, heavily armed policemen, yesterday, stopped a demonstration when they dispersed hundreds of residents along the axis who stormed the Admiralty Plaza, at Admiralty Circle Plaza at Lekki–Eti-Osa in protest against the tolling.

Meanwhile, an unconfirmed report had it that one person later died as a result of bullet wound he sustained during the incident. The police claimed, last night, to have fired gunshots into the air to disperse the protesters because they were armed.

There were conflicting reports as to the cause of the disturbance. While the residents said the police and hoodlums attacked them, another account had it that trouble started when the protesters tried to force motorists out of their vehicles to join them.

The toll collection, billed to commence today, will see saloon cars and tricycles paying N120 each per trip, motorcycle N50 and heavy duty vehicle N300. The road had been concessioned to the Lekki Concessioning Company (LCC) under a programme that is the first in sub-Saharan Africa and backed by a law by Lagos State House of Assembly. The project has generated global attention going by an export processing road and an airport proposed for Lekki and tied to the success of the concessioning.

The protest that started around 10 a.m.,yesterday, saw many protesters wounded with two severe cases of injuries and others escaped with minor wounds when the anti- riot policemen, led by the commander of the state Rapid Response Squad, RRS, Hakeem Odumosu, fired to disperse the teeming protesters.

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