Nigerian security forces killed 18 people during lockdowns -rights panel

ABUJA, April 16 (Reuters) - Nigerian security forces killed
18 people in two weeks while enforcing lockdowns imposed to halt
the spread of the new coronavirus, the National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC) said.
Nigeria, sub-Saharan Africa's most populous country and
biggest energy producer, has recorded 407 confirmed cases of
COVID-19 and 12 deaths from the highly contagious lung disease.
Lockdowns initially slated to last 14 days were put in place
on March 30 in the southern commercial hub Lagos, neighbouring
Ogun state and the capital Abuja. They were extended on Sunday
by two weeks and other states, such as the northern economic hub
Kano, have also imposed restrictions. The NHRC, an independent body, said in a statement dated
April 15 that there had been "eight documented incidents of
extrajudicial killings leading to 18 deaths" between March 30
and April 13.
It said the killings were carried out by the Nigerian
Correctional Service, the police force and army.
In response, a spokesman for the Nigerian Correctional
Service said four inmates had died after violence broke out and
left a number of prisoners and staff hospitalised. The rights
commission report alleged eight deaths.
The Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian Army did not
respond to phone calls seeking comment on the NHRC statement.
The statement said "law enforcement agents extrajudicially
executed 18 persons in the cause of the enforcement regulations"
related to lockdown measures.
"The report notes that most of the violations witnessed
during the period arose as a result of excessive or
disproportionate use of force, abuse of power, corruption and
non-adherence to national and international laws, best practices
and rules of engagement," the NHRC statement said.
The NHRC said it had received 105 complaints of alleged
human rights violations in the first two weeks of the lockdown.
Nigerian police and the military have repeatedly been
accused by rights advocates of using excessive force, but have
consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Last year the United Nations special rapporteur on
extrajudicial killings also accused Nigerian security forces of
using excessive lethal force. The police and military did not
respond to those accusations.