BY Chinedu Asadu
The United Kingdom parliament says it will consider a petition asking the country to sanction the federal government for human rights abuses over the #EndSARS movement.
The petition on the UK government and parliament website accused the government and the police of violating the rights of agitators protesting against police brutality.
It asked the UK to implement sanctions that deploy sanctions that would “provide accountability for and be a deterrent to anyone involved in violations of human rights”.
As of Wednesday morning, the petition has garnered more than 133,000 signatures — less than 24 hours after it was created.
The government-owned website stated: “Parliament will consider this for a debate … waiting for less than a day for a debate date.”
It added that parliament considers all petitions that get more than 100,000 signatures for a debate.
The protest is part of a nationwide #EndSARS movement which started as an opposition against the now-dissolved special anti-robbery squad (SARS) of the Nigeria police force.
The agitators are demanding better welfare and improved governance in addition to justice for victims of police brutality.
On Tuesday, police stations were burnt in Lagos and Oyo states, barely 24 hours after some were set ablaze in Edo state.
Lagos, Ondo, Edo, Ekiti and Osun are among states that have declared a 24-hour curfew in the aftermath of the violence, hours before security operatives opened fire on protesters who had converged on the Lekki toll gate in Lagos.
International figures and celebrities including Joe Biden, United States presidential candidate; Hillary Clinton, former US secretary of state have condemned the security clampdown.
The confirmed number of casualties at the Lekki shooting is not known yet but various reports on social media — which was streamed live — estimated about 10 people died in the incident.
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