- Unrest spread in Lagos on Wednesday, a day after witnesses and rights groups said army soldiers opened fire on a crowd of peaceful protesters defying a curfew during demonstrations against police brutality in Nigeria’s largest city.
- Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has said one person has died at a hospital following the shooting, but it was unclear if the person was a protester. He said 30 people were injured.
- Amnesty International said it was investigating “credible but disturbing evidence of excessive use of force occasioning deaths of protesters” at the Lekki toll plaza in Lagos.
- Videos showed men in uniform opening fire on demonstrators in Lagos. Nigeria’s military, however, denied responsibility for the Lekki shootings, posting a tweet that labelled several reports as fake news.
Here are the latest updates:
20:45 GMT – CPJ calls for journalists’ safety to be protected amid Nigeria protests
The Committee to Project Journalists (CPJ) has called on Nigerian authorities to allow journalists to continue to do their jobs while covering protests against police brutality in the West African country.
“Journalists in Nigeria must be permitted to freely report on demonstrations without threat of violence or intimidation,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator.
“Journalists in Nigeria are too often attacked simply for working to keep the Nigerian public and the world informed about what is happening in their country. Journalists’ safety is part of what it means to have freedom of the press, and is critical for Nigerian democracy.”
18:40 GMT – SARS: Why are tens of thousands of Nigerians protesting?
For two weeks Nigeria has been rocked by protests that erupted against police violence and evolved into broader anti-government demonstrations led by the country’s youth, leading to a deadly crackdown.
Young people mobilising through social media began staging demonstrations calling for the abolition of the federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), which has long been accused of unlawful arrests, torture and extrajudicial killings.
Read more here.
18:20 GMT – ECOWAS urges restraint
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has expressed concern about developments in Nigeria, urging both security forces and protesters to exercise restraint.
“While ECOWAS commission recognizes the right of citizens to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and protest, it is also of the view that those rights should be exercised in a non-violent manner.”
“In this regard, ECOWAS commission calls on all protesters to remain peaceful in the conduct of their demonstrations. It also urges the Nigerian security operatives to exercise restrain in the handling of the protests and act professionally.”
17:40 GMT – UK ‘deeply concerned, calls for end to Nigeria violence
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said he was “deeply concerned” by recent clashes in Nigeria and reports of civilian deaths, and called for “an end to violence”.
“I am deeply concerned by the recent violence and continued clashes in Nigeria, and am alarmed by widespread reports of civilian deaths,” he said in a statement.
“We call for an end to violence. The Nigerian government must urgently investigate reports of brutality at the hands of the security forces and hold those responsible to account,” he added.
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