The Nigerian presidency announced on Sunday the dissolution of a special unit of the police force after a week of protests in the streets and on social media against violence by the security forces.

“The special squad against theft (SARS) was dissolved with immediate effect,” published the presidency on his Twitter account.

For their part, the police assured that the SARS officers will be relocated to other criminal brigades and that “a special unit to monitor crimes against citizens will be established.”

Nigerians have been demanding the dissolution of SARS for more than a week, accused of extortion, illegal arrests, torture and murder.

The protest emerged on social media after the dissemination of a video showing suspected SARS agents killing a man in Ughelli, in the state of Delta (in the south).