Amnesty International says Nigerian police killed 24 in crackdown on August protests

Abuja, Nigeria — 

Human rights radical Amnesty International connected Thursday said its probe into Nigerian authorities' crackdown connected anti-government protests successful August showed authorities officials killed astatine slightest 24 protesters and detained much than 1,200 others. Amnesty's findings travel amid increasing concerns of a shrinking civic abstraction successful Nigeria.

A 34-page papers report released by Amnesty International Thursday was based connected eyewitness grounds and interviews with aesculapian workers and families and friends of the victims.

Amnesty said Nigerian constabulary utilized excessive unit connected demonstrators who had gathered to protestation the soaring outgo of living.

It said constabulary killed astatine slightest 24 people, including 2 children. The casualties were recorded crossed Borno, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa and Niger states.

According to the report, constabulary fired unrecorded rounds astatine adjacent scope targeting the victims' heads and torsos, portion immoderate different victims were suffocated by the indiscriminate usage of teardrop gas.

Isa Sanusi, Amnesty's Nigerian state director, believes the existent decease toll could beryllium overmuch higher.

"Even contiguous arsenic we're launching this study successful Kano, galore families were coming retired to archer america that their children are missing and galore are believed to person been killed oregon beryllium successful concealed detention. Therefore, the full contented is acold broader than what we person talked astir successful that report. This conscionable goes to amusement that Nigerian authorities are not acceptable to judge the information that the radical person the close to peaceful protest," helium said.

The August protests, which organizers called “Ten Days of Rage,” were successful effect to the soaring outgo of surviving galore believed was caused successful portion by President Bola Tinubu’s reforms, including the removal of substance subsidies.

Nigerian constabulary authorities person not responded to Amnesty's allegations, but person antecedently denied utilizing unrecorded bullets to quell the demonstrations.

A nationalist constabulary spokesperson did not instrumentality VOA's calls for comment.

Nigeria has a agelong past of constabulary brutality contempt repeated promises to beryllium much accountable.

During the protests successful August, heads of information agencies held an exigency gathering and the main of Defense Staff, General Christopher Musa, addressed journalists.

"None of america present is blessed to perceive immoderate Nigerian is injured for immoderate reason. It's our work the support Nigerians. We're going to stay focused, committed, we're going to respect quality rights, the rights of everyone who's lawfully performing his task oregon duty. But we volition not relent successful pursuing those that person continued to promote unconstitutional takeover of authorities oregon subversion oregon those ones that are into vandalism oregon demolition of lives and property," helium said.

Amnesty's study comes amid increasing interest by quality rights groups that Nigerian authorities are trying to stifle governmental dissent.

Sanusi said authorities are not superior astir stopping the usage of excessive force.

"The deficiency of accountability, the denial of the killings by the constabulary and different authorities officials are conscionable signs of the information that impunity is inactive reigning successful Nigeria and that has to stop. It happened during End SARS protests. We person consulted them to inquire for their remark and they didn't accidental anything. What we privation them to bash is to clasp those liable of those killings to account," helium said.

In October 2020, constabulary brutality sparked monolithic protests against the Special Anti- Robbery Squad oregon SARS portion of the police.

The protests ended successful a deadly shooting astatine the Lekki toll gross successful Lagos.