Police brutality in Nigeria

This item appears on page 4 of the December 2020 issue.

Civilians protesting police brutality in Lagos, Nigeria, were fired upon by soldiers on Oct. 21. The Nigerian government denied anyone had died, but it was later revealed that at least 12 protesters were killed.

Protests have been ongoing in Lagos and the capital, Abuja, since Oct. 10, at first against a secretive and violent police unit known as SARS (Special Anti-Robbery Squad). Nigeria’s president disbanded SARS on Oct. 11, but protests continued. Since protests began, at least 69 people have been killed, including civilians, police and military.