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US Embassy in Nigeria join global protest over George Floyd murder
BY NICHOLAS ABE
The United States Embassy in Nigeria on Monday joined the global protest against the killing of blacks in US by policemen, particularly the recent murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by a white police officer.
Floyd, 46, was tortured to death by a team of four white policemen, with one of them, Derek Chauvin, kneeling on his neck, even after the black man pleaded passionately that he could not breath.
The policemen, captured in video, by a bystander, were said to be responding to a call by a store attendant who alleged that the murdered black man had made a purchase with a fake $20 bill. They accused him of resisting arrest.
But video footages and other surveillance camera did not show any evidence of resistance on the part of Floyd, who was hand-cuffed on his two wrists to the back.
READ: Police officer in George Floyd death arrested, charged with murder
The Embassy staff took a knee for 84 seconds within their office in solidarity with the global outrage that has greeted the killing of Floyd and other unarmed black American citizens, across the United States.
“Today at the Embassy, we joined together in 84 seconds of silence in solidarity with those at home and around the world protesting the murders of George Floyd & others.
“We sincerely hope that all of us will learn from this episode & use it as inspiration to create a better world,” the US Mission in Nigeria announced on its Twitter handle.
Meanwhile, the four now former police officers, as they had since been relieved of their jobs, are currently facing trial, charged with third degree murder, manslaughter and conspiracy.