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PoliticsNigeria

Nigeria: Police increase presence on 10th day of protests

Saim Dušan Inayatullah
August 10, 2024

Thousands of Nigerians have taken to the streets to express frustration over the high cost of living. Protests turned violent last Thursday, with 22 deaths recorded, according to local media.

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Armed Nigerian police in Lagos
Nigeria increased police patrols ahead of a planned "One Million Man March" announceed by protest organizersImage: Sunday Alamba/AP/dpa/picture alliance

Nigerians took to the streets for the tenth and final day of protests on Saturday, Nigerian media reported.

Thousands of people have been demonstrating to express frustration over the high cost of living, with protests turning violent last Thursday.

Nigerian protesters march along road with banners and flags
Nigerians continued protesting for a 10th day, especially in the country's northImage: Kola Sulaimon/AFP

What do we know about the protests on Saturday?

Hundreds of police officers and security personnel were deployed in major cities across Nigeria, the country's Punch daily newspaper reported. It said that police were seen at major bus stops in the country's most populous city, Lagos.

It said that while protests appeared to be dying down in parts of the country, "momentum was sustained" in the northern states of Kano, Kaduna and Bauchi and in the southern state of Rivers.

The government of the southwestern state of Lagos hailed protesters for staying home.

"Your stoppage of the protest today is a crystal clear affirmation of the fact that you know your collective voice has been heard by the government," Lagos state Information Commissioner Gbenga Omotoso was cited by the Nigerian daily newspaper The Guardian as saying.

Meanwhile, Punch reported that organizers threatened to lock down the country as part of a "One Million Man March" planned for Saturday.

Police in Nigeria arrest protesters flying Russian flags

Why are people protesting?

Nigeria has been suffering a cost-of-living crisis amid skyrocketing inflation — which reached its highest point in 28 years — and stagnating wages. The protests come after major strikes were able to win some meager gains for the minimum wage.

Protesters have been demanding that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu reduce fuel prices that also shot up after he implemented a partial end to petrol and electricity subsidies, as well as devaluing the local currency.

Security forces have been accused of using excessive force against protesters.

According to the Nigerian newspaper The Guardian, 22 deaths have been recorded and 175 people have been injured in the protests. Police have made 1,154 arrests in connection with demonstrations, the newspaper said.

On Sunday, Tinubu urged demonstrators to stop protesting and "create room for dialogue."

Edited by: Alex Berry