Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of (a) recent unrest in Nigeria and (b) reported abuses being conducted by the special anti-robbery squad.

The UK Government is deeply concerned by reports of widespread violence during recent protests in Lagos and other major cities in Nigeria, including horrific reports of protestors being killed. We are following events closely and offer condolences to the families of those affected. The Foreign Secretary issued a statement on 21 October calling for an end to the violence and for the Nigerian Government to urgently investigate reports of brutality by its security forces and hold those responsible to account. I also tweeted on 21 October to urge the Nigerian Government to restore peace and address concerns about brutality towards civilians. The British High Commissioner in Abuja has raised the protests with representatives of the Nigerian Government. I expressed my concern over recent violence in Nigeria to Foreign Minister Onyeama on 23 October.

The Nigerian security services must uphold human rights and the rule of law in all operations, investigate any incidents of brutality towards civilians and hold those responsible to account. We will continue to work with the Nigerian Government and international and civil society partners to support justice, accountability and a more responsive policing model in Nigeria.