Police in Nigeria used tear gas to disperse protesters in the capital, Abuja, and the northern city of Kano, while thousands of people in cities across the country joined demonstrations to protest the high cost of living.
The country is struggling with rising inflation and a heavily devalued naira after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ended a costly fuel subsidy and liberalized the currency more than a year ago to improve the economy.
Tag #EndbadGovernanceinNigeria, the protest movement gained support with an online campaign, but authorities warned against attempts to copy recent violent demonstrations in Kenya, where protesters forced the government to abandon new taxes.
Many Nigerians are struggling with high costs – food inflation is at 40 percent and the price of fuel is triple what it was a year ago – but others were also wary of the insecurity surrounding the protests.
In Kano, the country’s second largest city, protesters set fire to tires in front of the state governor’s office and police responded with tear gas, forcing most protesters to retreat, according to the AFP news agency.
“We are hungry – even the police are hungry, the army is hungry,” said worker Jite Omoze, 38. “I have two children and a wife, but I can no longer feed them,” he added, appealing to the government. to reduce fuel prices.
Protesters later set fire to and looted a Nigerian Communications Commission digital center near the governor’s office, and police fired shots into the air to disperse them.
Police reported outbreaks of looting and arson in the city and arrested 13 people.
In Abuja, security forces blocked roads leading to Eagle Square – one of the planned protest sites – and fired tear gas and set up barbed wire fences to prevent several hundred protesters from reaching the park.
Security forces also fired tear gas to disperse crowds in Mararaba, on the outskirts of the capital, AFP reported.
About 1,000 people marched peacefully in the mainland area of the economic capital, Lagos, where they shouted “Tinubu Ole”, calling the president the Yoruba word meaning “thief”.
Local media reported that hundreds of protesters came out in the city of Maiduguri, in the northeast of Bauchi state, and in several other states across the country.
“Hunger drove me to protest,” said 24-year-old protester Asamau Peace Adams outside the Abuja National Stadium, before tear gas was fired. “It’s all due to bad governance.”
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
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