United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, António Guterres has reacted to the extra-judicial killings of peaceful protesters in Nigeria
The Herald on Tuesday reported a massacre of peaceful protesters whose demonstration of civil disobedience was met with heavy gunfire by the military officers.
Nigerian youths have embarked on nationwide peaceful protests against police brutality for the past 12 days.
The youths tried to maintain law and order in spite of the protests being hijacked by hoodlums who were allegedly sponsored by politicians.
The hoodlums bent on disrupting the protests succeeded in burning down a police station at Orile Iganmu area of Lagos state.
This action prompted Lagos state Governor, Babajide Sanwo-olu to impose 24-hour curfew on state residents.
However, peaceful protesters gathered at the Lekki toll gate despite the curfew.
Military officers who arrived the toll gate fired live ammunition at the unarmed citizens.
Reacting to the incident UN Secretary General , António Guterres condemned the killings and called on the Nigerian authorities to investigate the massacre.
Guterres made this known in a statement released by his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric,
“The Secretary-General is following recent developments in Nigeria and calls for an end to reported police brutality and abuses. He condemns the violent escalation on 20 October in Lagos which resulted in multiple deaths and caused many injuries.
“He expresses his condolences to the bereaved families and wishes a speedy recovery to those injured. He calls on the Nigerian authorities to investigate these incidents and hold the perpetrators accountable.
“The Secretary-General urges the security forces to act at all times with maximum restraint while calling on protestors to demonstrate peacefully and to refrain from violence.
“The Secretary-General encourages the authorities to swiftly explore avenues to de-escalate the situation. He reiterates the readiness of the United Nations to support national efforts towards finding a solution.”
Stephane Dujarric,
Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
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