At least 45 members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) were killed in thecapital, Abuja, and the neighbouring state of Nasarawa on Saturday and Monday, Amnesty International said.
Soldiers used automatic weapons on the protesters in a “horrific use of excessive force by soldiers and police”, according to Amnesty. On Saturday, at least six people were killed. On Monday, the death toll was at least 39, with another 122 sustaining gunshot wounds.
Soldiers used automatic weapons on the protesters in a “horrific use of excessive force by soldiers and police”, according to Amnesty. On Saturday, at least six people were killed. On Monday, the death toll was at least 39, with another 122 sustaining gunshot wounds.
Osai Ojigho of Amnesty said: “It seems the Nigerian military are deliberately using tactics designed to kill when dealing with IMN gatherings. Many of these shootings clearly amount to extrajudicial executions.
“This violent crackdown on IMN protesters is unjustified and unacceptable. They were perfectly within their rights to hold a religious procession and protest and there was no evidence they posed an imminent threat to life.”
The Nigerian military said its troops were acting in self-defence, although there were no reports of casualties among the security forces.
Defence spokesman, John Agim, said: “They met the soldiers in the call of their duty and the soldiers tried to defend themselves.”
British money is spent on training Nigerian soldiers in a long-term arrangement, which was bolstered by the security agreement Theresa May signed with the country’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, on her trip to Africa in August.
The US president, Donald Trump, approved the sale of $600m (£462m) worth of military jets to Nigeria in May, a deal that Barack Obama had frozen after a Nigerian fighter plane bombed a refugee camp, killing 100 people.
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