The National Human Rights Commission said on Sunday 11 persons were killed extra – judicially by the men of the Nigerian police , the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and others during the second phase of the lockdown imposed by the government to curb the spread of COVID- 19 .
The figure adds to the 18 extra -judicial killings the commission had stated occurred during the first phase of the lockdown to make 29 of such deaths in the five- week period .
The executive summary of the latest report of the NHRC covering the period of the second phase of the lockdown , spanning from April 13 to May 4 , 2020 , was released by the Executive Secretary of the commission , Mr Tony Ojukwu.
Ojukwu stated that the commission received 104 human rights violation complaints during the second phase of the lockdown , which was one less than the 105 complaints received by the commission during the first phase of the lockdown from March 30 to April 13 .
He said the commission received the 104 complaints from 27 out of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, namely Abia , Adamawa , Akwa Ibom , Kano, Jigawa , Cross Rivers, Ebonyi , Edo, and Enugu .
Others are Ekiti , Delta , Imo , Lagos , Nasarawa , Niger , Ogun, Osun , Borno , Bayelsa , kogi , Benue , Anambra , Kaduna , Gombe , Zamfara and Rivers states .
According to him , forms of rights violation complaints received by the commission included extra – judicial killings , violation of right to freedom of movement , unlawful arrest and detention , seizure /confiscation of properties , sexual and gender – based violence , torture , inhumane and degrading treatment and extortion.
He said of the 11 documented incidents of extra – judicial killing , four were recorded in Abia State , two in Delta State , one in each of the five states of Niger, Jigawa , Lagos , Anambra and Rivers.
“ The report further shows that out of the 11 deaths , the Nigeria Police Force was responsible for seven deaths , while the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, non – state actors and the Abia State Task Force on COVID- 19 were responsible for one death each .
“ Investigation was still ongoing as of the time of the report to unravel the perpetrator of the extra – judicial killing that occurred in Jigawa State . ”
The commission commended all law enforcement officers “ who have shown restraint and professionalism in the face of provocation by members of the public during the lockdown ”.
Source: The Punch.
