Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2020 to Question 107130 on Nigeria: Police, what assessment he has made of the effect on (a) the protection of human rights and (b) respect for the rule of law of the disbandment of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad and redeployment of its members.

The UK Government welcomes President Buhari's decision to disband the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) following the #ENDSARS protests, and notes the intention to redeploy FSARS officers. We continue to support police reform in Nigeria, and to advocate for improvements in the human rights compliance and accountability of the Nigerian police. To this end, we welcome the establishment of judicial panels of inquiry to investigate alleged incidents of brutality by the security services.

We will continue to push for the Nigerian police, armed forces and wider security services to uphold human rights and the rule of law in all operations, investigate any incidents of brutality, illegal detentions and use of excessive force, and hold those responsible to account.