In Pictures

Photos: Protesters in Nigeria demonstrate over high cost of living

The country is struggling with soaring inflation and a sharply devalued naira currency.

People protest against the country's worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation, in Lagos — Thousands of Nigerians have protested against the cost-of-living crisis. [Sunday Alamba/AP Photo]

By News Agencies

Police in Nigeria have used tear gas to disperse demonstrators in the capital, Abuja, and the northern city of Kano as thousands of people in cities across the country joined rallies to protest the high cost of living.

The country is struggling with soaring inflation and a sharply devalued naira after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ended a costly fuel subsidy and liberalised the currency more than a year ago to improve the economy.

Tagged #EndbadGovernanceinNigeria, the protest movement won support with an online campaign, but officials had 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 fuel is triple the price from a year ago – but others were also wary about insecurity around protests.

In Kano, the country’s second-largest city, protesters set fire to tyres outside the state governor’s office and police responded with tear gas, forcing most of the demonstrators back, according to AFP news agency.

“We are hungry – even the police are hungry, the army are hungry,” said factory worker Jite Omoze, 38. “I have two children and a wife but I can’t feed them anymore,” he added, calling for the government to reduce fuel prices.

Protesters later torched and ransacked a digital centre of the Nigeria Communications Commission near the governor’s office and police fired shots in the air to disperse them.

Police reported pockets of looting and arson in the city and arrested 13 people.

In Abuja, security forces blocked off roads leading to Eagle Square – one of the planned protest sites – and fired tear gas and set up barbed wire fencing 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.

Some 1,000 people marched peacefully in the mainland area of the economic capital Lagos, where they chanted “Tinubu Ole”, calling the president the Yoruba language word for “thief”.

Local media reported hundreds of protesters came out in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, Bauchi state, and several other states across the country.

“Hunger has brought me out to protest,” said 24-year-old demonstrator Asamau Peace Adams outside the National Stadium in Abuja before tear gas was fired. “It’s all down to bad governance.”

Demonstrators react as Nigerian policemen fire tear gas canisters during the End Bad Governance protest in Abuja — Security forces in Abuja fired tear gas to disperse the protesting crowds. [Kola Sulaimon/AFP]

A Nigerian policeman stands next to demonstrators gathering during the End Bad Governance protest at Ikeja, Lagos — Carrying placards, bells and Nigeria's green-and-white flag, protesters in Lagos chanted songs as they listed their demands, including the reinstatement of gas and electricity subsidies whose removal as part of the government’s audacious reforms to grow the economy has had a knock-on effect on the price of just about everything else. [Benson Ibeabuchi/Bloomberg/AFP]

Nigerian security detain a demonstrator, during a protest against bad governance and economic hardship in Abuja, Nigeria — Security forces detain a demonstrator in Abuja. [Marvellous Durowaiye/Reuters]

Demonstrators gather as they participate in an anti-government demonstration, to protest against bad governance and economic hardship in Lagos — Rights groups and activists had raised concerns about a possible clampdown on the protests. Nigeria is one of Africa’s top oil producers, but its population of more than 210 million people is among the poorest in the world. [Akintunde Akinleye/Reuters]

Nigerian security forces stand guard on a road, during the an anti-government demonstration to protest against bad governance and economic hardship — Roads were blocked in parts of the country while many businesses were also shut amid fears of violence. [Marvellous Durowaiye/Reuters]

A demonstrator holds a placard, during an anti-government demonstration to protest against bad governance and economic hardship, in Lagos — A demonstrator holds a placard during an anti-government demonstration to protest against bad governance and economic hardship, in Lagos. [Akintunde Akinleye/Reuters]

Demonstrators hold a placard, during an anti-government demonstration to protest against bad governance and economic hardship in Abuja — “People are fed up and angry because we deserve better,” said Jude Sochima, a protester in Abuja. [Marvellous Durowaiye/Reuters]

Protestors hold a placard as they gather behind barbed wire during the End Bad Governance protest in Abuja — Demonstrators in Abuja gather behind barbed wire during the End Bad Governance protest. [Kola Sulaimon / AFP]

Demonstrators gather during the End Bad Governance protest in Abuja — The protesters said they are also aggrieved over the country’s deadly security crises in the conflict-battered north, which President Bola Tinubu had promised to end when he was campaigning for president. [Kola Sulaimon / AFP]