Global human rights NGO Amnesty International has annoyed the Nigerian police by exposing the shocking level of unlawful police killings in the west African country, in a new report released on 9 December.

A peaceful protester won an important court victory for civil liberties yesterday when police surveillance of him of was ruled unlawful, in a decison that lawyers say will change the way demonstrations and protests are policed.

Supporters of Brian Haw, the Christian peace protestor whose long-running Westminster vigil against the Iraq war led to the government banning demonstrations in the vicinity, have expressed outrage at his arrest yesterday.

Police arrested four people during the Stop the War Campaign march calling from the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, - after the protest was given the go-ahead by the authorities following outrage at its original banning under an archaic law.