Helen Hayes and Neil Coyle have urged the government to take action after peaceful protests were violently repressed in Nigeria.
The Dulwich and West Norwood MP called on the foreign secretary to support the ‘End SARS’ protests in solidarity with Nigerian campaigners and members of the diaspora in Southwark.
She has publicly supported the campaign to abolish and fully investigate the Nigerian Special Anti-Robbery Squad (known as SARS), after documented human rights abuses included torture, sexual violence and waterboarding.
Although the Nigerian government has said the unit will be disbanded, protests calling for wider reform and investigations into the unit’s actions have been violently repressed. On October 20, a dozen peaceful activists were killed in Lagos.
Hayes said: “The recent violence in Nigeria and the repression of protestors is abhorrent and I know that many of my constituents are deeply worried about family and friends living in Nigeria.
“The UK has a moral duty to stand up for human rights abroad and to work with international partners to oppose abuses. The UK government must do everything possible to help restore peace in Nigeria.”
In her letter to foreign secretary Dominic Raab, Hayes also described her concern over reports that UK funding had been used toward the training of implicated SARS officers.
Neil Coyle, a member of the House of Commons’ foreign affairs committee, has also called on the foreign secretary to take a stand, saying he has ‘watched with horror’ as events have unfolded in Lagos.
More than 220,000 people signed a petition calling on the UK government to impose sanctions on key figures within the Nigerian regime in response to the human rights abuses.
The government’s official response, given on November 11, said: “We were concerned by violence during recent protests and await the outcome of Nigerian investigations into reports of police brutality.
“We do not publicly speculate on future sanctions designations.”
However, the number of signatories meant the issue was motioned for debate in parliament, chaired by Theresa Villiers, where MPs blasted the government for channeling funds towards the SARS unit.