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By DPA 
10h ago
By Sam Olukoya
Lagos – Nationwide protests against police brutality have gripped Nigeria for the third day in a row.
At least one person is believed to have died Saturday amid clashes between protesters and police. While the marches were to be peaceful, the protesters attacked a police station, leaving at least one police officer dead.
The police fired tear gas and stun grenades at the protesters, who in turn accused the security forces of also using live ammunition.
Thousands of people marched calling for the dissolution of the police Special Anti-Theft Squad, known by the acronym SARS. Nicknamed the #EndSARS protests, the demonstrations paralyzed Nigeria’s largest city Lagos, the capital Abuja, as well as smaller cities.
Video of unit officers beating a man in Ughelli in Delta state, some 600 kilometers from the capital, sparked initial protests on Thursday. Police denied allegations that the man had been beaten to death.
Rest in peace, Jimoh Isiaq! ‘He was killed by happy trigger PoliceNG officers while participating in #EndSARSProtestas in #Ogbomosho the present day. We will never forget you😪✊ pic.twitter.com/8pEdfSMhLa
– Tee Jay (@SkepticTman) October 10, 2020
It was the latest in what human rights groups say is a series of abuses by SARS. The unit was founded in 1992 in an attempt to combat theft. Since then, its members have been accused of extrajudicial executions, torture and extortion.
The campaign began on Twitter with the hashtag #EndSARS retweeted by millions of Nigerians, including prominent musicians and athletes.
Some of us have well paying jobs and we still like our HAIR like that ….. DREADLOCK is not a crime, applying DYE for HAIR is not a crime.
And THANK YOU to everyone who wished me happy birthday yesterday …. LOVE ALWAYS#EndSARS #EndPoliceBrutality pic.twitter.com/JltDmtGfFB– ASISAT MON (@AsisatOshoala) October 10, 2020
SARS randomly targets men with dreadlocks, tattoos or those who drive expensive cars, threatening to arrest them unless they pay a bribe, activists say. Earlier this year, riots broke out in Sagamu, in southwestern Nigeria, when a local footballer arrested by the unit died in custody.
Aisha Yusuf was the woman who gave the order to open fire on us. Photos attached. #EndSarsNow #EndSARS #EndPoliceBrutality pic.twitter.com/bXVLN8hMCx
– Abdulrazak Alhassan (@BagOfNuts_) October 10, 2020
The Center for the Defense of the Rule of Law and Accountability said it has documented cases of SARS abuse across the country and referred them to the police, with no response.
Nigeria was in breach of its obligations to ensure the investigation of allegations of police misconduct, the center said in a statement.
In response to the protests, the police have vowed to reduce some of the unit’s powers. The protesters, however, demand its dissolution, saying that the conduct of the SARS agents is an extension of the impunity enjoyed by the Nigerian security forces.
They are shooting at us !!! #EndSARS pic.twitter.com/yKFwEWQLph
– Demola of Lagos (@OmoGbajaBiamila) October 10, 2020
On Friday, President Muhammadu Buhari assured Nigerians that his government will hold the police accountable.
“I am regularly briefed on ongoing reform efforts to end police brutality and unethical conduct, and ensure that the police are fully accountable to the people,” he said in a statement.
dpa
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