The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has raised his voice against the killing of unarmed protesters by Nigerian authorities, describing it as condemnable.
“The Secretary-General is following recent developments in Nigeria and calls for an end to reported police brutality and abuses,” Guterres’s spokesman Stephanie Dujarric said in a statement on Wednesday.
“He condemns the violent escalation on 20 October in Lagos which resulted in multiple deaths and caused many injuries.
“He expresses his condolences to the bereaved families and wishes a speedy recovery to those injured. He calls on the Nigerian authorities to investigate these incidents and hold the perpetrators accountable,” he said.
The protests against police brutality, extortion, harassment and extrajudicial killing turned bloody on Tuesday after state security forces shot sporadically at protesters.
Persecondnews reports that President Muhammadu Buhari or high ranking government official has yet to speak.
United States Democratic Presidential Candidate, Joe Biden, and former U.S. Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, have condemned the massacre.
Biden told Buhari to stop the violent crackdown on protesters and mourned with families of victims.
UN Secretary-General urged the security forces to “act at all times with maximum restraint while calling on protestors to demonstrate peacefully and to refrain from violence.
“The Secretary-General encourages the authorities to swiftly explore avenues to de-escalate the situation.”
He restated the readiness of the United Nations to support national efforts towards finding a solution.
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