Nigerian security agents have killed 18 people in their enforcement of measures to curb coronavirus, a figure higher than the documented toll inflicted by the disease, the country\u2019s human rights body said.<\/p>\n
Africa\u2019s most populous nation has imposed a total lockdown in megacity Lagos and the capital Abuja and set restrictions in other regions in a bid to contain the virus.<\/p>\n
According to official figures, coronavirus has so far infected 407 people in Nigeria, 12 of them fatally.<\/p>\n
Security forces, including police and army, have been deployed to enforce the restrictions, sparking deadly confrontations in some states.<\/p>\n
In a report released late on Wednesday, the National Human Rights Commission said it had received and documented \u201c105 complaints of incidents of human rights violations perpetuated by security forces\u201d in 24 of Nigeria\u2019s 36 states and Abuja.<\/p>\n
Of these complaints, \u201cthere were 8 documented incidents of extrajudicial killings leading to 18 deaths\u201d, it said.<\/p>\n
The commission noted that the tally of killings was higher than the recorded toll from the disease itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhereas Covid-19 led to the death of 11 victims, law enforcement agents extrajudicially executed 18 persons in the cause of the enforcement regulations,\u201d it said, referring to the official virus toll as at the time of the report.<\/p>\n
It accused the security agents of \u201cexcessive or disproportionate use of force, abuse of power, corruption and non-adherence to national and international laws, best practices and rules of engagement.\u201d<\/p>\n
National police spokesman Frank Mba said the commission was \u201ctoo general in its allegations,\u201d saying it ought to have been specific in the number of people killed by the police.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe commission should have given details of those killed by the police, their number, names and places where they were killed to enable us take appropriate actions,\u201d he told AFP.<\/p>\n
He said the police would continue to enforce the lockdown measures \u201cprofessionally and in line with international best practices\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said the police authorities would not condone any abuses or infractions against the personnel, adding that recently an officer who extorted money from a civilian was punished and made to refund it to the owner.<\/p>\n
Local and international rights bodies have long accused Nigerian security forces of abuses against civilians, but they have denied the charges.<\/p>\n
There have been growing fears of a rise in crime and unrest due to the virus restrictions, especially in Lagos, as millions of people living in poverty have been cut off from vital income.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nigerian security agents have killed 18 people in their enforcement of measures to curb coronavirus, a figure higher than the documented toll inflicted by the disease, the country\u2019s human rights body said. Africa\u2019s most populous nation has imposed a total lockdown in megacity Lagos and the capital Abuja and set restrictions in other regions in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":20562,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[1388,1070],"class_list":{"0":"post-22100","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-community","9":"tag-covid-19","10":"tag-zimbabwe-police"},"yoast_head":"\n