According to Amnesty International, Nigerian police fired at demonstrators in August

In a report released Thursday, Amnesty International said that Nigerian police killed at least 24 people during crackdowns on protests in August over the high cost of living. They used too much force and shot protesters.

“#10DaysOfRage” riots, which happened all over the country because of bad economic times, were the biggest in Nigeria since October 2020.

The Nigeria Police Force did not answer right away when asked for a response on the Amnesty report. On August 3, cops said seven people had died but denied killing marchers.

At that time, police said that four deaths were caused by an explosive device set off by people they thought were members of Boko Haram who had sneaked into a crowd. On the march, two people were killed when they were hit by a car, and a man was killed by a rogue while trying to rob a store.

The government told Nigerians not to join the protests, but it hasn’t said anything about the deaths of protesters in public.

Amnesty said in a 34-page study that it had gathered proof from death certificates, videos, photos, and stories from people who saw what happened. The rights group said that in Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Kaduna, Niger, and Borno states, cops killed at least 24 marchers.

“In almost all cases the victims were shot by the police – firing live ammunition at close range, often at the head or torso, suggesting that they were shooting to kill,” it said.

Amnesty said that the government should thoroughly and openly look into all claims of attacks on protests and bring those responsible to justice.

After getting bad feedback from rights groups, Nigeria freed at least 30 kids who had been locked up during the protests earlier this month.

Nigeria is having the worst problem with rising costs of living in a generation. 

The devaluation of the naira and President Bola Tinubu’s economic changes, which included getting rid of some subsidies for gas and power, have made prices go up even more.