Curfews were ordered in several northern states on Friday after clashes broke out the day before.
Security forces fired tear gas to disperse protests in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, as nationwide demonstrations against economic hardship continue.
Curfews were ordered in several northern states on Friday after clashes broke out in the cities of Kano and Abuja the day before.
Protesters say they are demonstrating against food shortages and accusations of poor governance and corruption in Africa’s most populous country.
Photographs of the protests show Nigerians holding signs with slogans such as “end bad governance in Nigeria”, “pay a living wage to all Nigerian workers in public and private jobs”.
Police said more than 300 protesters were arrested and curfews imposed in five northern states following the looting of government and public property.
Rights group Amnesty International said at least 13 protesters were killed in three northern states. Authorities have not commented on any deaths.
Nigeria’s inspector-general of police said on Thursday that the military could be called in to help.
The country has placed all police units on “red alert” and other measures could be taken to restore order, Inspector General Kayode Egbetokun said in a statement.
“The police are equipped to respond appropriately to the developing situation and will receive assistance from other security agencies, including the military, if necessary,” the statement said.
Amnesty International said security forces were responsible for the deaths of 13 people in Niger state, Maiduguri, which is the capital of Borno state, and Kaduna, all in the north.
“Our findings so far show that security personnel in places where lives were lost deliberately used tactics designed to kill while dealing with gatherings of people protesting hunger and deep poverty,” he said.
Kaduna state police spokesman Mansur Hassan said on Thursday that police fired tear gas at protesters but did not use live ammunition.
Reporting from Lagos, Nigeria’s economic hub, Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris said the number of protesters on the streets on Friday appeared lower than the day before.
“The turnout or the numbers that we are seeing here are much lower than what we saw yesterday,” he said.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
