Police fire gunshots and tear gas as thousands protest Nigeria’s crisis. Reports say 2 were killed

ABUJA, Nigeria — Security forces fired shots and fired tear gas to quell mass protests in Nigeria on Thursday as thousands of people, mostly young people, took to the streets. to demonstrate against the country’s worst cost of living crisis in a generation. At least two people were reported dead.

The deaths occurred in northern Niger state, where protesters clashed with security forces after blocking a major highway, local newspaper Daily Trust reported.

Elsewhere, police opened fire in at least two other states as crowds demanded an end to the country’s deepening economic crisis. The residents of Africa’s top oil producer are among the poorest in the world..

The demonstrations, dubbed “day of rage,” called for an end to chronic corruption and bad governance.

Live streams of the protests showed some protesters looting warehouses and damaging public property. Three governors declared curfews in their states, saying thugs had taken over the protests.

Human rights groups and activists denounced the violence and said police used excessive force.

Anietie Ewang, a Nigerian researcher at Human Rights Watch who followed the protests, said they began peacefully and insisted the threat “did not require that level of response.”

There was no immediate comment from the government. Nigerian public officials, frequently accused of corruption, are among the highest paid in Africa – a stark contrast to the hardships suffered by the masses.

The demonstrations began with banners, bells and the green and white Nigerian flag as protesters chanted songs and listed their demands, including the restoration of gas and electricity subsidies. Its elimination as part of the government’s reform efforts to grow the economy has had a ripple effect on the price of almost everything else.

Some carried signs that said: “This hunger is too much.”

“People are fed up and angry because we deserve better,” said Jude Sochima, one of the protesters in Abuja, the country’s capital.

In Abuja, where a court granted an order Wednesday night to restrict the protest to a stadium, police repeatedly fired volleys of tear gas at protesters gathered in a district with mostly government offices. Police also fired tear gas at protesters in Bauchi and Borno states in the conflict-hit northeast.

Many businesses closed for fear that the protests could be a repeat of the Deadly 2020 protests against police brutality in the West African nation, or a wave of violence similar to that of last month Protests in Kenya, where a tax increase caused chaos in the capital, Nairobi.

Although there was no single group leading the protests, which were originally planned to last 10 days, calls for demonstrations in recent days had gained momentum on social media and increased pressure on the Nigerian government as millions fight in front of the economic and security difficulties. crisis.

Prominent activist Omoyele Sowore said on Thursday that protesters will not back down until their demands are met.

Protesters said they were also concerned about the situation in the country. Deadly security crisis in conflict-hit northwhat president Tinubu Ball He had promised to end it when he was campaigning. Fourteen months into office, the country’s challenges have persisted and even worsened in some cases, official statistics show.

Also on Thursday, some groups held demonstrations in support of the Nigerian leader.