Nigerian govt to be sanctioned by UK for human rights abuses

The UK Parliament has called on the British government to impose international sanctions against the Nigerian government over human rights violations by officials and security agencies against citizens during the EndSARS protests.

The UK Parliament has also demanded the British government to initiate an investigation into the incidents of human rights abuses against Nigerian citizens and how the Muhammadu Buhari government handled the situation during the protests.

As per reports, these sanctions on the Nigerian government officials will vary from visa bans to freezing of assets. The UK Parliament on Monday debated the petition filed by some groups and individuals seeking sanctions against the Nigerian government over alleged incidents of human rights violations in the country. The petition, accusing the Nigerian government and security officials of extrajudicial killings, was signed by more than 220,000 people from Nigeria and over 2,000 from the UK.

During the debate, the members of the UK Parliament also slammed Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari over the intimidation and attack on peaceful protesters participating in the #EndSARD demonstrations. The British Parliament also condemned the attack on peaceful and unarmed protesters by the Nigerian military at the Lekki Tollgate.

In addition, parliamentarians have also urged the British government to explore ways to monitor the Nigerian government’s development funding in a bid to establish anti-corruption programmes and poverty relief measures.

Young Nigerians have been protesting police brutality in the country since the early days of October. These protests expanded into broader #EndSARS protests where demonstrators also demanded institutional reforms in government. In between these protests, there have been reports of incidents of police brutality and extra-judicial killings at the hands of Nigerian security officials in Lagos, Rivers, Delta and Oyo among other areas in Nigeria.

Earlier, a team of UN Human Rights Council called on the Nigerian government to launch an inquiry into protester killings during the protests. In addition, Human Rights Watch also joined the efforts of a number of civil society groups calling for an end in the usage of excessive force against protesters in various parts of Nigeria.

Amid the ongoing developments, the British Parliament has also asked the UK government to look into the possibility of imposing new sanctions allowing those entities and individuals to be targeted who violate human rights around the world.