LAGOS, Nigeria, July 21 (UPI) -- The Human Rights Watch accused Nigerian police officers Monday of fanning last fall's Miss World competition riots that killed more than 220 people.
The BBC said the violence flared up in a city divided on religious grounds after protests surrounding the Miss World beauty contest. But the international human rights organization is blaming security forces for contributing to the violence and criticizes the government for not charging them.
The protests started after Muslims objected to a newspaper article about the pageant, saying the article was blasphemous.
In its 32-page report, the BBC said HRW accuses Nigerian police and security forces "contributed significantly to the violence by killing and injuring people who were not posing any threat."
The group also criticizes the government for not filing charges against any officers, despite eyewitnes accounts of police officers shooting people rather than arresting them.
