#EndSARS: Amnesty International ‘documenting’ police brutality on protesters

Amnesty International, the non-governmental human rights organisation, has said it has been documenting police brutality on #EndSARS protesters.

The protests, which have happened nationwide, have so far been peaceful, except for the use of force by the police to disperse the protesters.

One protester was shot dead allegedly by the police on Saturday in Ogbomoso, Oyo State.

The police used force and fired teargas on Sunday morning to disperse protesters who had regrouped to continue with the protest.

“Amnesty International has been documenting ongoing unlawful use of lethal force on #EndSARS protesters across #Nigeria,” the right group said Friday on Twitter.

“Police brutality is a stain on Nigeria’s image,” the group said.

Amnesty International, on Sunday, also took to Twitter to call out the governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, for taking a stance against the #EndSARS protest.

The governor, in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Zailani Bapoa, said it was necessary for SARS to exist for the sake of “peace and tranquility” in Nigeria.

“Here in Zamfara State, we cannot afford to do without their immense contribution to the success of our peace initiatives against banditry and other criminality,” Mr Matawalle said.

Amnesty International, in response to Mr Matawalle’s position, posted photos of Nigerians killed by SARS officials and said the governor was “displaying utter disdain for the lives of Nigerians killed by #SARS”.

“Your support for #SARS is utter contempt for the victims of the endless atrocities of SARS,” the group added.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian government on Sunday afternoon announced the “dissolution” of SARS in the country.

“In the finest spirit of democratic, citizen-centred and community policing, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP M.A Adamu, NPM, mni has today, 11th October, 2020, dissolved the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) across the 36 State Police Commands and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) where they hitherto existed,” the spokesperson of the Force Headquarters, Abuja, Frank Mba, said in a statement.

“The IGP, while noting that the dissolution of SARS is in response to the yearnings of the Nigerian people, observes that by this dissolution, all officers and men of the now defunct Special Anti-robbery Squad are being redeployed with immediate effect,” Mr Mba, a deputy commissioner of police, said in the statement.

Mr Mba said the police would set up an investigating team, with civil society organisations and human rights groups as members, to investigate cases of human rights violation by SARS.