A judicial panel investigating police brutality in Nigeria and the recent shooting of unarmed protesters in the country’s financial hub of Lagos has convened for the first time, as demands for accountability grow. The establishment of an independent body to oversee the investigation and persecution of all reported cases of police misconduct has been one of the main demands of peaceful demonstrators who this month took to the streets across Nigeria to protest against police violence and call for sweeping reforms. The panel in Lagos, which has a six-month mandate, has so far received 15 complaints which are all unrelated to the shooting in Lekki, according to reports. On October 20, nearly two weeks into the protests, witnesses and rights groups said soldiers opened fire on demonstrators gathered at a toll gate in Lekki, an upmarket area of Lagos. The military denied its involvement in the attack but Amnesty International said 12 people were killed in Lekki and Alausa, another area of Lagos, by soldiers and police.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA