Nigeria’s police force and army, referred to as the Nigerian Correctional Service, is reported to have killed 18 people over the past two weeks during lockdowns intended to curb the spread of the coronavirus, reports Nigeria’s National Human Rights Council.
Nigeria imposed a lockdown on the 30 March in the southern commercial hub of Lagos, the Ogun state and the capital Abuja. The lock which was initially stated to only last two weeks was extended a further two weeks and increased to other states such as Kano in the north.
The Nigerian Correctional Service responded to the Human Rights Council claiming that four inmates died after violence broke out at a prison. The Nigerian Human Rights Councils has received 105 complaints of alleged human rights violations within the first two weeks of Nigeria’s lockdown.
As of writing, there are 407 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Nigeria and 12 deaths due to the virus.
Read more at Reuters.
