Nigeria

In 2020, nationwide protests calling for the disbandment of the abusive police unit known as the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) captured global attention and ultimately led to the dissolution of the unit. While the authorities made limited progress towards justice and accountability for police abuses, instances of harassment and attacks against protesters by security forces in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Lagos and other states raised concerns over their stated commitment to reform of the security sector. Insecurity persisted throughout 2020 in the northeast region of the country as Boko Haram and its splinter faction, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), continued to attack civilian, humanitarian, and military targets.