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The Nigerian army has issued a warning to “rebellious and subversive elements” to desist after a week of protests over police brutality.
The government has also banned protests in the capital Abuja, citing public safety measures to address Covid-19.
Demonstrations against police brutality have taken place in Nigerian cities for the past week.
The protests have continued despite the authorities agreeing to dissolve the Special Anti-Theft Squad (SARS).
The unit has been accused of extrajudicial executions, extortion and torture, especially of young people.
Protesters say groups of men wielding machetes and other weapons attacked them over the past two days, both in Abuja and in the country’s largest city, Lagos.
What did the army say?
Army spokesman Colonel Sagir Musa said in a Facebook post: “The NA [Nigerian army] He hereby warns all rebellious and subversive elements to desist from such acts, as he remains highly committed to defending the country and its democracy at all costs ”.
He continued to offer “to support the civil authority in any capacity to maintain law and order and deal with any situation decisively.”
The statement has been received as a veiled threat by the protesters, reports Chris Ewokor of the BBC Abuja.
Will the army intervene?
If the president accepts the army’s offer to intervene, it means that the government has not learned from the mistakes of the past; you would be trying to solve new problems with old solutions that never worked before.
The Nigerian military has a bloody history of suppressing civil disobedience.
The arrival of the army could make everything that has happened in the last week, with the deaths of at least 10 people caused by the protests and the notoriety of the now-disbanded Sars, seem like child’s play.
The generation leading the protests has no experience with the military rule, which ended in 1999, and its brutal crackdowns on civil disobedience, so it is difficult to know how they will react.
But if the last week has shown something, it is that this group does not give up easily.
Why are protests banned in Abuja?
Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory Administration minister says protesters have violated public security protocols on Covid-19 and are thus endangering the lives of residents.
His spokesman, Abubakar Sani, told the BBC that the minister was concerned about public health and the safety of the population.
He said authorities expected the protesters to comply with the ban, otherwise security officers would be expected to enforce compliance.
One of the organizers of the protests in Abuja, Olumide Otitoju, said that this kind of threat would not deter them from their peaceful protest to make their legitimate demands as citizens.
What are the details of the attack on the protesters?
On Wednesday, protesters against police violence in Abuja were attacked by a group of unidentified men with machetes.
Witnesses said that several hundred protesters were gathered in the center of the city when the attack took place.
One protester said that some of the attackers had been detained and subsequently handed over to authorities.
There are also reports of men with machetes showing up at a protest in Lagos on Thursday.
How did the protests start?
The protests began after the alleged killing of a young man by officers from the Sars unit in early October.
The protesters called for the dissolution of the unit.
The police closed it down and announced a new unit: the Special Weapons and Tactics (Swat) team.
But protesters rejected the announcement, as many consider the changes not enough to reform the police.
The protests have attracted world attention; Most recently, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey urged his followers to donate Bitcoin to the organizers.
Those working in the Nigerian tech sector have been prominent among those complaining about the activities of Sars officers.
Nigerian superstars Wizkid and Davido have also backed the protesters.
What are the accusations against Sars?
From robberies to violent attacks and murders, people have been sharing their experiences at the hands of Sars.
Obianuju Iloanya told BBC Newsday that his brother Chijioke disappeared eight years ago after being arrested by Sars agents.
An officer told the family that he had been killed, but they did not show him his body.
Officers later denied arresting him.
“So far we don’t know if he’s alive or not,” Iloanya said.
She told the BBC that she had joined the protests to get justice for her brother.
“I don’t just demand an end to Sars, I want accountability, I want justice. They can’t just tell us that Sars is over. We want closure. “
“It is painful, it is not enough for us, it does nothing for us because these officers who could have killed these boys are going unpunished without justice.”
What has the government done?
He has vowed to comply with several of the protesters’ demands.
In addition to banning Sars, President Muhammadu Buhari has promised “extensive” reform of Nigeria’s police service.
The authorities have also pledged to release all protesters who have been detained.
They say that all Sars officers will undergo a psychological and medical examination before continuing their training and redeployment, and that Sars officers will not be reassigned to the unit set up to replace them, the Special Weapons and Tactics (Swat) team.
However, protesters remain skeptical, pointing out that several previous promises to abolish or reform Sars were not kept.
