Within the initial stage of the COVID-19 lockdown in Nigeria, security agents across the country extra-judicially killed more Nigerians than the novel coronavirus, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said on Wednesday.

A statement signed by the commission’s Executive Secretary, Tony Ojukwu, decried that while coronavirus has so far killed 12 people in Nigeria, according to data from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), security operatives have caused the death of 18 people. The commission, in its assessment of human rights violations over the last two weeks, noted that the deaths were illegally executed by law enforcement agents to impose the lockdown regulations.

According to the commission, 12 of those deaths were recorded in Kaduna State. Abia State also recorded two deaths arising from two incidents; while Delta, Niger, Ebonyi and Katsina states recorded one death each.

Of the 18 deaths, the Nigeria Correctional Service was responsible for eight deaths while police were responsible for seven deaths. On the other hand, the Nigerian Army was found to be responsible for two deaths while the Ebonyi State Task Force on COVID-19, Afikpo South LGA, was responsible for one death. 

NHRC described the action of the security agents as a “total disregard” for rules of engagement in dealing with the civil population. 

The commission further revealed it documented 105 complaints of human rights violations within the 14 days. The report indicated that the Police were responsible for 90 percent of the total cases of violation across the country, as Lagos had the highest recorded cases with 28 incidents, followed by Abuja which had 10 cases.

There has also been pandemonium in the country as hundreds of gang members, mostly teenagers, attack residents. This, however, forced residents to set up makeshift checkpoints, burning tyres in border communities between Lagos and Ogun states after forming vigilante groups to protect themselves from attacks.

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday announced a two-week extension of lockdown to curtail the spread of the disease but made no mention of the security situation in states where residents are concerned that the economic hardship caused by the lockdown has led to a spike in crime.

As authorities insist that the extension of the shutdown is vital to curb the spread of the virus,  palliative measures should also be considered as many rely on daily earnings to survive, a problem that has left many facing economic hardship and rising crime. “The government needs to combine public health measures with efforts to prevent the pandemic from destroying the lives and livelihoods of society’s poorest and most vulnerable,” said Anietie Ewang, Nigeria researcher at Human Rights Watch.

By Ahmed Iyanda

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