Nigeria: Protestors against ‘SARS’ block Lagos highway

ANKARA (AA) - Nigerian protestors against the country’s controversial Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) police on Friday blocked the Alausa section of the Lagos-Ibadan highway, local media reported.

The protestors have moved from the entrance of the Lagos House of Assembly to block the highway leaving many passengers stranded around the Alausa and Berger areas of Lagos State, Nigeria’s commercial capital, The Punch local website reported.

The protestors' action comes amid ongoing nationwide demonstrations against the police unit’s brutality against people, according to The Punch.

In the capital Abuja, protesters have been besieging the headquarters of SARS demanding to put an end to it, over killings, torture and human rights abuses reportedly committed by the controversial unit's officers.

Meanwhile, Nigeria's police chief on Friday condemned protestors for attacking police officers and damaging police vehicles, according to a statement.

Mohammed Abubakar Adamu said the incidents in Delta state have led to the death of one policeman, while another sustained a serious gunshot injury.

He said the protestors carted away one service AK-47 rifle with 25 rounds of live ammunition that was with the deceased at the time of the incident.

Adamu also warned that the “force will no longer tolerate any attack on its personnel or any member of the law enforcement community by any individual or group protesting under any guise.”

In a report on Tuesday, Amnesty International said that authorities have failed to tackle the impunity enjoyed by SARS, whose brutality and corruption are “becoming increasingly brazen.”

“Last weekend, the Nigerian police announced yet another ban on routine patrols by SARS and other tactical squads of the Nigerian police, the fourth such ban in four years, amid growing anger over harassment and abuse by officers,” said the rights group.