LAGOS: Police in Nigeria used teargas on Friday to disperse dozens of people in the capital Abuja who had gathered to protest at alleged brutality by members of a special police unit, witnesses said.
Protesters, some holding placards, ran as clouds of teargas hung in the air. Multiple people at the incident said on Twitter that police had fired the canisters.
A spokesman for the police did not immediately respond to a message and call requesting comment.
“They poured teargas on each and every one of us, it’s so hot I had to put water on my face. This is what Nigeria has turned into,” protester Anita Izato said.
“We just got there with our placards and decided, they started throwing us teargas. That was it,” another protester said.
Sporadic protests have broken out across Nigeria in recent days after a video circulated last week alleging to show members of the Special Anti-Robbery squad, known as SARS, shooting dead a man in Delta state.❐
