Nigeria police mobilise to quell worst unrest in decades
- Amnesty says 12 protesters killed in Lagos on Tuesday
- Millions of Nigerians currently living under curfew
Nigeria’s police chief ordered the immediate mobilisation of all force resources to try to control the worst street violence in Africa’s most populous country in two decades stemming from protests against police brutality.
The unrest, unprecedented since the 1999 return to civilian rule, is the most serious political crisis confronting President Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler elected in 2015. Curfews have been imposed on millions of people in recent days in response to violence and looting in parts of the country.
Violence, particularly in the commercial capital Lagos, escalated after demonstrators were shot on Tuesday night in the city’s Lekki district during a round-the-clock curfew. Witnesses blamed soldiers.
Rights group Amnesty International said soldiers and police had killed at least 12 protesters in two districts, though the army and police denied any involvement.
Several states, mostly in southern Nigeria, have imposed curfews after two weeks of confrontations between protesters and members of the security services.
As pockets of unrest flared again on Saturday in parts of the country, a spokesman for southern Cross River state said several buildings had been vandalised over the last two days including a shopping centre, a bank and electoral offices.