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The Nigerian president has called on the international community to “know all the facts” following the widespread condemnation of the alleged deaths of protesters against police brutality.
Muhammadu Buhari, who did not respond to a shootout against protesters that took place on Tuesday, also called on the protesters to stop demonstrating and engage with the government.
Buhari also announced that he had disbanded the controversial Special Anti-Theft Squad, known as SARS.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari (file photo)
Earlier, national security adviser Babagana Monguno told reporters that the president had ordered all security agencies to operate within “the limits of legality” and “do nothing to aggravate the situation.”
“The president is very concerned about this development and does not want a situation in which everything collapses and results in anarchy, anarchy and people who take justice into their own hands,” Monguno added.
It comes after at least 12 people died when government forces fired at protesters during demonstrations against police brutality, according to Amnesty International.
Shots were fired at protesters at the Lekki toll plaza in NigeriaThe commercial capital of Lagos on Tuesday night caused injuries and an unknown number of deaths.
The human rights group Amnesty said an investigation has uncovered evidence of 12 deaths and hundreds of injuries, and accused the police and army of using excessive force.
The protests began two weeks ago after a video circulated showing a man being beaten, apparently by SARS police officers.
As the End SARS movement has swept through Nigeria over the past fortnight, at least 56 people have died, 38 of them on Tuesday alone, Amnesty claims.
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Analysis: SARS’s Leaderless End movement may have unleashed forces it can’t control
by John Sparks, Africa correspondent
Chidi Nwaonu, a security analyst at Peccavi Consulting, says the inability of security services to manage the situation in Lekki and foresee the immediate consequences highlights its essential weakness in a rogue city of 15 million.
“If that city rises, there is nothing you can do. There are not enough soldiers in the entire army to guard it. It is a chaotic hodgepodge, an urban guerrilla’s dream. The security services must round it up and find someone responsible for it. that happened in Lekki. If you don’t, this could escalate into a real insurgency. ”
In the wake of violence and disorder in the country’s largest city, protesters also face significant challenges.
The protests unfolded spontaneously, following the circulation of a video on social media showing a SARS officer allegedly shooting a man in Delta state and walking away. Under the hashtag #EndSARS, thousands of young people took to the streets as part of a movement that has been described as a “national awakening.”
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The birth of this political movement may have been assisted by the fact that they essentially had no leaders.
“We had to do it this way,” says Lagos resident Hamilton. “We have coordinators in individual areas, but we can’t have leaders or the federal government will come in and arrest them. It wouldn’t have worked.”
However, without a proper leadership structure, the central goals proposed by the protesters risk being lost if the country descends into a period of social and political chaos.
Some, like Chidi Nwaonu, question whether #EndSARS has unleashed forces it cannot control.
“The problem here is not the middle class, the urban youth who were in Lekki with their music and their funny protest posters and all that. It is the poor, the working people and the disenfranchised non-working poor. There is a group of angry people and deeply frustrated people who have genuine grievances to rally on, and this is a serious problem to deal with. “
