The police were responsible for murdering perhaps 40 people during the protests in early August. They arrested perhaps 2,000 people and many were held un-constitutionally for well over 48 hours. During this time many were beaten and tortured, some for days. This was to extract written confessions and names of others to be arrested.
This is not a new development, in this 2009 report, Amnesty International, found that:
..The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) is responsible for hundreds of extrajudicial executions, other unlawful killings and enforced disappearances every year..
But it is only the poor that suffer, this report also documents that:
where bribes guarantee safety, those who cannot afford to pay are at risk of being shot or tortured to death by the police. The families of the victims often cannot afford to seek justice or redress, because they cannot pay for a lawyer or the court fees.