Nigerian President says 51 civilians, 18 security forces killed in unrest

Nigeria’s president declared 51 civilians were killed in distress following days of nonviolent demonstrations over policemen vituperations and accused “hooliganism” for the intensity while stating security forces applied “extreme restraint”.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s comments in a declaration issued late Friday have assumed to farther aggravate strains after Amnesty International published soldiers fired and killed at least 12 protestors Tuesday night as a massive group chanted the national anthem.

Buhari also announced 11 policemen and seven officers had been shot by “rioters” as of Thursday, and “the violence has not stopped”.

He stated another 37 local people were injured. He was addressing a particular agreement with former heads of state and other officials on the way forward after some of Nigeria’s most acute turmoil in years.

“Many lives have been lost” in Nigeria’s trouble, the president’s office declared Friday, as the government stated times of nonviolent demonstrations over police violations had been commandeered by thugs.

In a national address Thursday, Buhari did not discuss the shootings that sparked international abuse. The president rather urged demonstrators against being used by “insurgent details” and “threatening national protection and law and order”.

He repeated that Friday, telling the government “will not close its arms and allow criminals and offenders to continue to commit acts of hooliganism”.

Officers remained in portions of Lagos, Nigeria’s biggest city, as a 24-hour curfew remained in place.

A spectator of Tuesday night’s fatal shooting, 33-year-old Isaiah Abor, tried out anyway to tour the scene where soldiers started the fire. He succeeded to escape the bloodshed.

“When [the soldiers] were giving comments that the flag is not bulletproof – that’s when I knew this was going to go out of hand,” Abor said. Blank ammo cases still scattered the ground.

The president’s speech bothered him. “The blood that painted a whole Nigerian flag, those youngsters were not even discussed,” Abor said.