Nigerian Protesters Defy Ban in Oil Hub as Casualties Climb

(Bloomberg) -- Hundreds of people defied a government ban and marched through the Nigerian oil hub of Port Harcourt as demonstrations against police brutality that have left at least 10 people dead continued for a ninth day.

Protesters gathered outside the gate of the governor’s office in the southern city, according to footage broadcast on Facebook. There were renewed calls on social media for more protests in the commercial capital, Lagos, where demonstrators on Monday blocked a key expressway and access to the main international airport.

At least one person was shot dead during the protest in Lagos on Monday, Tolu Ogunlesi, an adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari, said on Twitter. Amnesty International, the London-based human-rights group, said at least 10 people have died nationwide since the demonstrations began on Oct. 5.

The government remained conciliatory, even after disbanding the controversial Special Anti-Robbery Squad whose activities triggered the protests. All the demands of the protesters will be addressed, Femi Adesina, Buhari’s spokesman, said in an emailed statement. The government also prohibited the use of force against marchers and ordered the release of all those arrested and detained by the police because of the protests.

A presidential panel will guide measures to further reform the police, including the delayed implementation of a 2017 report on the activities of the special police unit, according to the statement.

Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy and its largest oil producer, ranks as the worst-performing country in the 2016 World Internal Security and Police Index compiled by the International Police Science Association. The index measures the ability of security bodies to render services.

The current protests began after a video purportedly showing the killing of a civilian by the controversial Special Anti-Robbery Squad was shared on social media. The unit has faced accusations of human-rights violations, torture and extra-judicial killings.

The Nigerian Senate said on Twitter that the protests were justified, given the squad’s conduct.

Buhari disbanded the unit on Sunday and has pledged further extensive reforms of the police force.

A social-media campaign calling for the disbanding of the unit first emerged in November 2017, when street protests took place in some parts of the country, according to a 2019 report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The latest round of demonstrations resulted in the hashtag #EndSARS trending worldwide on Twitter.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.