‘We are hungry,’ chant Nigerian protesters as 13 people die

A clampdown by Nigerian security forces on protests against high living costs in Africa s most populous nation has left at least 13 people dead. Cr...

A clampdown by Nigerian security forces on protests against high living costs in Africa’s most-populous nation has left at least 13 people dead.

Crowds chanting "we are hungry” marched through the streets of several cities on Thursday, and a 24-hour curfew was imposed in the northern Kano, Borno and Yobe states after the demonstrations turned violent. Protesters gathered in small numbers in the capital Abuja, the commercial hub of Lagos and the town of Port Harcourt in Rivers State on Friday morning.

The protesters’ 12 demands include that the government fully reinstate fuel subsidies that cost $10 billion in 2022 alone and were partially scrapped last year, cut electricity tariffs and reduce duties on imports.

Thirteen people who were protesting peacefully died in three seperate incidents, Amnesty International said in a statement on Friday. It described the violent crackdown as "unjustified and unacceptable” and called for an investigation into the killings.

Public anger has been stoked by a surge in the prices of gasoline, food and electricity, which has driven inflation to a near three-decade high. The protesters lay blame on reforms that have been introduced by President Bola Tinubu since he took office in May last year, including the scrapping of subsidies and relaxation of foreign exchange controls that have weakened the naira.