Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Nigeria protesters demand police reforms for sixth day

Crowds protesting against police brutality in Nigeria have taken to the streets for a sixth day across Africa's most populous nation

Via AP news wire
Tuesday 13 October 2020 15:41 BST
Nigeria Police Protest
Nigeria Police Protest (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Crowds protesting against police brutality in Nigeria took to the streets Tuesday for a sixth day across the country after a video of a beating posted online sparked demonstrations that now have left at least 10 dead.

Fresh protests took place in Nigeria's largest city, Lagos and in the southeastern cities of Port Harcourt and Uyo. The demonstrations have continued even after Nigeria's police spokesman announced Sunday that the unit blamed for the brutality was being formally dissolved.

The Special Anti-Robbery Squad, known as SARS, was set up to combat armed robbery in Nigeria but its members have been implicated in several cases of human rights abuses including extra-judicial killings.

Nigeria's police have promised to investigate allegations of abuses involving SARS officers, but demonstrators are calling for reforms across the country's entire police system.

Earlier this month, young Nigerians started a Twitter campaign for the disbandment of the unit after the video of SARS agents beating up a man circulated online. The protests with the hashtag #ENDSARS rapidly gained support in Nigeria and abroad.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in