Nigeria: Police boost presence on the 10th day of protests

On Saturday, Nigerians rallied in the streets for the tenth and final day of protests, News.Az reports citing Deutsche Welle.

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

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.

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.

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, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu urged demonstrators to stop protesting and "create room for dialogue."

News.Az