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Nigeria has dissolved the special police force at the center of protests against police brutality.
The government said that a special presidential directive had ordered the immediate dissolution of the Special Anti-Theft Brigade (Sars).
The protests against the squad were sparked by a video of a man allegedly killed by police.
The demonstrations have intensified despite the repression and have spread outside the country.
What does the directive say?
All officers in the Sars squad, widely accused of illegal arrests, torture and murder, will be reassigned, the presidency said, and a new arrangement to replace the squad is in the works.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian police chief said that a team of investigators, including civil society organizations and human rights organizations, would be established to investigate the alleged abuses committed by Sars.
President Muhammadu Buhari had previously said that he was determined to end police brutality, introduce reforms and bring “misguided personnel … to justice.”
The protesters had demanded that the unit be disbanded rather than reformed because previous commitments to change police behavior had failed.
Source: BBC
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