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According to Amnesty International, at least 12 people have died in Nigeria and hundreds have been injured, after the army and the police fired on unarmed protesters on Tuesday protesting against the use of force by the same police in two neighborhoods of Lakes. the largest city in the country. The army denied involvement in the killing of civilians and spoke of “fake news”.
Patricia Scotland, Commonwealth Secretary General, Dominic Raab, British Foreign Minister, and Moussa Faki, Chairman of the Commission of the African Union (the international organization comprising all African states), condemned the violence. Scotland called the military attacks on protesters “cowards”. Nigeria’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo promised justice for protesters killed or injured on Wednesday.
I spoke to some of those who were in the hospital. The pain of these terrible events is palpable in our towns and cities, and some losses are irreplaceable, but we can and will obtain justice for all of them. I stand with Lagos and all the other affected states in these difficult times.
– Prof Yemi Osinbajo (@ProfOsinbajo) October 21, 2020
The protests were initially against the use of force by the police, in particular by the Special Anti-Theft Brigade (SARS), units accused over years of serious human rights violations that protesters called for their abolition. However, the protests have spread and protesters have called for a more general reform of the country. They have been going on since the beginning of October and, as New York TimesIt would be carried out, unlike what happened in the past, by educated, middle-class young people from the southern and central cities of the country, and in better general conditions than previous generations.
The events have had more and more international visibility, also thanks to the solidarity messages of famous Nigerians in the world, also in Italy: on Saturday the players of Serie A Victor Osimhen from Napoli and Simy from Crotone showed a shirt with the words #EndPoliceBrutalityInNigeria, rejoicing after scoring a goal.
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