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Punish trigger-happy police, rights group urges

    ABIDJAN

    Nigeria's Constitutional Rights Projects (CRP) has called on the Inspector General of Police to order an investigation into "unprovoked" shootings by policemen that led to the deaths of two civilians in separate incidents in Lagos, and to punish the perpetrators.

    The latest incident occurred on Tuesday when police fired shots into the air to disperse a peaceful student demonstration. The victim was a passer-by who died when a stray bullet hit him on the head.

    In mid-October, a member of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) fired a bullet also "without provocation" that hit and fatally wounded a female university student at a bus stop, CRP said in a statement on Thursday. It accused the police of "gross misdemeanour and other excesses" which, it said, had often led to "the loss of innocent lives".

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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