A petition asking the United Kingdom to sanction the members of the Federal Government of Nigerian and Nigeria Police Force for human rights abuses over the #EndSARS movement has been signed by 83,719 individuals.

This was as of 12.51am on Wednesday when our correspondent visited the petition page.

The petition, which was created by one Silas Ojo, seeks to generate 100,000 signatures.

At 100,000 signatures, this petition will be considered for debate in Parliament,

a note beneath the petition with a deadline of April 20, 2021 read.

The petition on the UK government and parliament website read,

There have been deeply concerning reports of a Nigerian police force unit (SARS) engaging in illegal activities and human rights abuses, and there have also been reports of police firing at protestors calling for SARS to be disbanded.

Implement sanctions against the Nigerian Government and officials.

The Government should explore using the new sanctions regime that allows individuals and entities that violate human rights around the world to be targeted, to impose sanctions on members of the Nigerian government and police force involved in any human rights abuses by the Nigerian police.

Deploying sanctions would provide accountability for and be a deterrent to anyone involved in violations of human rights.

Nigerians, especially the youths, have taken to the streets in protest over violations of human right and extrajudicial killing by Police personnel, specifically those of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.