Nigerians protest over police brutality

Nigerians took to the streets again on Tuesday protesting against police brutality.

The protest held in several parts of the country.

The protest resulted in slow movement of traffic in the country’s economic city, Lagos.

These protests started from complaints on social media demanding for the abolition of a notorious controversial police unit.

This police unit, federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (F-SARS) was accused of unlawful arrests, torture and extra-judicial killings.

However, the government responded to their plights on Sunday by disbanding F-SARS.

The move was not well accepted because it had been disbanded before and had its name changed.

It turned out that previous vows to reform Nigeria’s notorious police went unfulfilled.

Protesters are in the streets to keep up the pressure and let their demands be heard.

The peaceful demonstrations became violent in the face of heavy-handed police tactics.

According to reports from authorities, a police officer and civilian were killed during the protests in Lagos on Monday.

This totals the overall nationwide death toll to at least five since last week.

Some of Nigeria’s most celebrated stars also joined the protest.

Protest held in some states including the capital Abuja, in Oyo and Ondo states, as well as in Port Harcourt where the government imposed that no protest must hold.

Several commuters were trapped in traffic for several hours on Monday evening as a result of the protest together with construction work in the capital city.

Protestors want a reform in the police system and an independent body to check activities of police.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday insisted that the “disbanding of SARS is only the first step in our commitment to extensive police reforms”.