Upwards of 71,040 detainees died extra-judicially in the custody of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) in the 16-year period of 2004 – 2020, according to the International Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law (Intersociety).

The rights group made the claim in a statement issued on Tuesday, October 27, 2020, in Onitsha, Eastern Nigeria.

“This further translates to 370 persons monthly and 4,440 yearly, or 370 custodial deaths monthly multiple by one year-equals to 4,440, multiply by 16 years-equals to 71,040 custodial deaths. In other words, Nigeria as a whole is most likely to have lost since 2004 a total of 71,040 unprocessed citizens to police extrajudicial killings mainly perpetrated by its SARS,” Intersociety said in the statement signed by the principal officers: Emeka Umeagbalasi, Amaka Onuoha, Esq., Chinwe Umeche, Esq, Obianuju Igboeli, Esq., Ndidiamaka Bernard, Esq., and Comrade Sam Kamanyaoku.

It noted that “the NPF particularly its SARS has also earned notoriety in permanently disappearing hundreds, if not thousands of Nigerians every year. In other words, citizens arrested outside the law and taken into secret custodies are killed without the knowledge of their families and outside the confines of official records.”

Intersociety alleged that gross human rights abuses and extra-judicial deaths are common in the “7,300 to 7,500 police formations in Nigeria including 17 Zonal Command Headquarters and 37 State/FCT Command Headquarters.”

It added: “Even though Police SARS dominates the custodial torture and extrajudicial killing chart of the NPF, the following units or departments of the Force are also culpable: anti-fraud, special anti-robbery squad-State-SARS and F/SARS (“disbanded”), anti cult unit, general investigation, special fraud unit, Interpol liaison, homicide, cybercrime, anti-human trafficking, force intelligence department or FCIB/SCIB, special branch (criminal and special investigation bureau), department of criminal investigations or FCID/SCID and its annexes in Kaduna, Lagos, Enugu and Gombe; counter terrorism, anti kidnapping squad, and border and marine sectional formations.”

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