Two More Dead In Protests Over Nigerian Police Brutality

Thousands of people took to the streets on Monday in Nigeria as pressure mounted on the government to follow through on a promise to disband a feared police unit, leaving two more demonstrators dead

Lagos, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Oct, 2020 ) :Thousands of people took to the streets on Monday in Nigeria as pressure mounted on the government to follow through on a promise to disband a feared police unit, leaving two more demonstrators dead.

One person was killed by security forces on Saturday in Ogbomoso, in the southwestern Oyo state, while another died on Monday during clashes between police and protestors in Surulere, in Lagos state, the government said, adding that both incidents would be investigated.

"There is no excuse for shooting anything (not to talk of live bullets) at peaceful protesters. The Police MUST find the shooters and make them face justice in full," special assistant to the president, Tolu Ogunlesi, said on Twitter.

At least two other people were killed since the protests began last week, initially targeting the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

On Monday, around 2,000 people blocked a main highway in the country's biggest city Lagos, demanding that the government make good on an announcement Sunday that SARS was being scrapped.

The decision to dissolve the unit, which has been accused of unlawful arrests, torture and extra-judicial killings, followed widespread protests that saw police use tear gas and water cannon.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday insisted that the "disbanding of SARS is only the first step in our commitment to extensive police reforms".

"The purpose of law enforcement and the purpose of policing is for the safety of lives and livelihood of Nigerians," he said.

But protesters in Lagos and the capital Abuja vowed they would keep up the pressure after previous pledges to disband the unit and punish officers responsible for abuses were not honoured.