The use of excessive force by the Nigeria Police personnel has caused multiple deaths of rights protesters on the streets of Nigeria, Amnesty International (AI) has said.
The AI said this in its latest report on Wednesday.
This is even as the United States had said that there was no information about the number of fatalities recorded during the EndSARS protest at Lekki Tollgate on October 20, 2020, in Nigeria.
The global human rights group said use of excessive force also led to several cases of multiple killings while enforcing COVID-19 measures.
Amnesty said marginalized groups, such as women and refugees, bore the devastating brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic due to discriminatory policy by leaders across sub-Saharan Africa.
It said the pandemic compounded the devastating impact of armed conflict in countries such as Ethiopia, Mozambique, Cameroon, and Nigeria.
“For example, 21 women and children had been killed by intimate partners in South Africa by mid-June, while over 3,600 rapes were recorded during the COVID-19 lockdown in Nigeria.
“In CAR, the UN recorded 60 cases of conflict-related sexual violence, including rape, forced marriage, and sexual slavery, between June and October,” it said.
