Nigeria’s government found guilty of human rights abuses during the #EndSARS protests

CNN — A West African court has found the Nigerian government guilty of human rights abuses during its suppression of the 2020 #EndSARS protests against alleged police brutality.

The Abuja-based Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice imposed a financial penalty on the country for forcefully cracking down on peaceful protesters who demanded that a notorious police unit known as the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, or SARS, be shut down.

Around two weeks into the 2020 protests, Nigeria’s security forces opened fire on young people demonstrating peacefully at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos, killing and wounding several people.

“The court found credible evidence of disproportionate use of force and violations of the right to liberty and security, assembly, free speech, and dignity,” said a court statement, which highlighted “particularly its (Nigeria’s) disproportionate use of force at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos on October 20, 2020.”

In a ruling delivered on Wednesday, the regional court ordered the Nigerian government to pay N2 million (around US$ 1,200) in compensation to each victim named in the suit.