Africa Press-Nigeria:
Nigerian embassies in cities around the world witnessed protests on Wednesday after the shooting of peaceful protesters in Lagos on Tuesday evening.
Witnesses said gunmen opened fire on more than 1,000 people on Tuesday evening to disperse the crowd after a curfew was imposed to end spiralling protests over police brutality and deep-rooted social grievances.
Amnesty International said security forces had killed several people and it was working to determine the death toll.
The Lagos governor said the authorities were investigating the death of one person due to “blunt force trauma to head” and that 25 others were wounded.
The centre of the city, home to 20 million people, was deserted and shops were closed on Wednesday, but small-scale solidarity protests occurred in cities around the world, including Pretoria, Accra, Dublin and London with thousands calling for an end to police brutality.
In videos shared on social media, protesters in Dublin could be seen carrying placards reading ‘Stop killing protesters’ and ‘No police brutality in Nigeria’.
In London, protesters made attempts to pull down the Nigerian flag outside the embassy.
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab condemned the violence in Nigeria.
“I am deeply concerned by the recent violence and continued clashes in Nigeria, and am alarmed by widespread reports of civilian deaths,” he said.
“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.”
Protests were also planned outside the Nigerian embassy in Washington DC.
