UPDATE 5-Lagos imposes indefinite curfew to curb Nigeria protests, police deploy anti-riot squad

* Lagos curfew follows more than a week of protests
* Business group estimates protests cost economy $1.8 bln
* National police chief deploys anti-riot forces nationwide

(Adds Ekiti state curfew, alters third bullet point)
By Libby George and Alexis Akwagyiram
LAGOS, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Authorities on Tuesday imposed a
round-the-clock curfew on the Nigerian state of Lagos -
including Africa's biggest city - in response to protests
against alleged police brutality which they said had turned
violent.
The national police chief also ordered the immediate
deployment of anti-riot forces following increased attacks on
police facilities, a police spokesman said.
The Lagos state governor's spokesman, Gboyega Akosile, said:
"The curfew will not end tomorrow. A 24-hour curfew means all
round the clock, day and night. It is indefinite. Nobody moves
until we lift the curfew."
Citizens in the commercial capital stocked up on food after
the announcement. Staples such as tomatoes and eggs were sold
out in some places as women in markets closed shops and people
queued at cash machines.
GT Bank, one of the largest lenders in Nigeria, said all its
branches would remain closed for the duration of the curfew.
Thousands of Nigerians demanding an end to alleged police
brutality have taken to the streets every day for nearly two
weeks across the country. Amnesty International said at least 15
people had been killed since the protests began.
Rights groups had for years accused the Special Anti-Robbery
Squad (SARS), a police unit targeting violent crime, of
extortion, harassment and torture. But a video allegedly showing
SARS officers killing a man in Delta state sparked the protests.
Police denied the incident, and disbanded SARS on Oct. 11, but
protests have persisted.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said the curfew would apply to
all parts of the state, including the metropolis of Lagos,
Africa's largest city with 20 million inhabitants. Only
essential workers were exempted.
It had been imposed as the protests had turned violent, he
said.
"I have watched with shock how what began as a peaceful
#EndSARS protest has degenerated into a monster that is
threatening the wellbeing of our society," Sanwo-Olu said.
A police station in the Orile Iganmu area of Lagos was set
ablaze on Tuesday, TV news station Channels reported.
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce said Nigeria's economy had
suffered an estimated loss of 700 billion naira ($1.84
billion)in the last 12 days due to the disruption.
Early in the protests, police fired on protesters in the
Surulere area of Lagos and elsewhere. Armed gangs have attacked
protesters in Lagos and the capital Abuja.
The southwestern state of Ekiti imposed a curfew hours after
the announcement in Lagos. Its governor said protests had been
"hijacked" by criminals who sought to "rape, assault, rob and
extort innocent citizens".
The southern state of Edo on Monday imposed a similar curfew
after a jailbreak by prisoners during protests. Police said they
had strengthened security around prisons nationwide.
The speaker of Nigeria's lower chamber of parliament, Femi
Gbajabiamila, said he would not sign off on the federal budget
for 2021 unless it included provisions to compensate victims of
police brutality over the past two decades. Youth minister Sunday Dare said on Monday the government had
met demonstrators' demands for talks on reforms in law
enforcement and urged them to enter into dialogue. Officials say they fear a surge in coronavirus infections
due to people attending demonstrations.