Cape Town - Eight police officers were arrested on Friday in connection with the October 2017 torture and murder of a Nigerian national in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng, South Africa's police watchdog said.

In a statement, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) said the six male and two female officers are accused of interrogating and suffocating 25-year-old Olamilekan Badmus last year.

"According to the police, they had found drugs on the deceased but this was a false story to cover up the torture and murder of the deceased," Ipid said.

"There was a huge outcry from the Nigerian community when the death was discovered. At the time, the police also alleged that they were attacked by 'drug dealers'."

A post-mortem, conducted by two pathologists, confirmed Badmus had been tortured, the statement said.