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Nigeria's Police Reform Efforts Under Scrutiny

Salem Solomon

   Lekki Toll Gate, a nondescript toll plaza on a busy Lagos highway, has
   become a rallying cry for Nigerians demanding police reform.

   After dark on October 20, eyewitnesses say, security forces opened fire
   on protesters demonstrating against Nigeria's Special Anti-Robbery
   Squad, known as SARS. According to Amnesty International, at least 12
   people were killed at Lekki and a second location, though the
   government said two people died.

   "This place was a war zone, but it was more army fighting civilians,
   unarmed civilians," Ephraim Osinboyejo, a 39-year-old businessman, told
   Reuters. "Peaceful civilians, civilians who were exercising their
   constitutional right."

   Days of confrontation followed between protesters and police. The
   clashes left at least 51 civilians, 11 police officers and seven
   soldiers dead, according to government figures.

   The Nigerian government vowed investigations and police reform. It
   disbanded the SARS unit, reassigned officers and promised additional
   human rights training.

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