The nationwide protest has reportedly begun with participants blocking the Kaduna Road, a highway in Niger State linking Kaduna to Abuja.
A report by Premium Times said the demonstrators carried carried placards with several inscriptions saying ‘We Are Not Slaves’, ‘Enough is Enough’; ‘Stop Anti-Masses Policies’, ‘Hardship Is Unbearable’ and ‘Fuel Subsidy Must Be Back.’
The protesters also chanted anti-government slogans.
The organisers of the nationwide protests are demanding an improvement in the cost of living and a reversal of some government policies, particularly the removal of petrol subsidies
Nigeria is experiencing its worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation. Food prices had gone up more than 300 per cent after President Bola Tinubu removed petrol subsidies and floated the naira to allow market forces to determine the value of the Nigerian currency.
The government says the policies are essential and that citizens would later benefit from them.
The government has been working hard to prevent the protests by meeting with traditional rulers, clerics, and other groups.
Security agencies like the police, the army and the State Security Service have also warned that the protests could be hijacked by persons’ intent on causing violence.
Details later…
