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Nigerian police have fired tear gas at a protest against police brutality in the capital Abuja.
A video of a man allegedly killed by police sparked protests.
Several other protests have taken place in Nigeria, including Lagos. Star Wars actor John Boyega is among the celebrities supporting the protesters.
Initially, the movement targeted the highly criticized federal Special Anti-Theft Squad (Sars), widely accused of illegal arrests, torture and murder.
More and more Nigerians started using the hashtag #EndSARS on Twitter after the alleged murder of a young man by officers from the Sars unit last Saturday.
Many people were also using the hashtag to share stories of brutality attributed to the police unit.
On Sunday, Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, banned Sars’s unit from carrying out arrest and search duties and setting up barricades.
He also said that Sars members should always wear uniforms and promised that the unit would be investigated.
But the protesters want the unit to dissolve completely.
Shots are heard
On Friday, the protesters marched towards the police headquarters in Abuja.
A witness, protester Brian Dennis, told the BBC that the police used tear gas and that some protesters were beaten.
Videos shared on Twitter appear to show protesters fleeing tear gas.
Another protester, Anita Izato, said she heard gunshots and the protesters ran to safety.
It is the second day of anti-police protests in Nigeria and in the largest city, Lagos, protesters slept overnight in front of the government house.
Slow to change
Celebrities such as Nigerian superstars Wizkid and Davido have shown their support for the protests on Twitter.
Star Wars actor John Boyega, who has Nigerian heritage, tweeted his frustration at the apparent lack of change within the police force.
The #EndSARS hashtag started in 2018.
The National Human Rights Commission released a report on Sars’s activities in May 2019, but critics say little appears to have changed.
An investigation by the human rights group Amnesty International published in June accused Sars officers of using “torture and other ill-treatment to execute, punish and extract information from suspects.”
It documented 82 cases between January 2017 and May 2020.
Amnesty found that the group allegedly targeted men between the ages of 17 and 30.
“Young men with dreadlocks, ripped jeans, tattoos, flashy cars or expensive gadgets are frequently the target of SARS,” Amnesty said.
