Police on Thursday fired tear gas and beat demonstrators who staged a protest in Nigeria’s main northern city against soaring fuel prices, organisers of the rally said. Police in the northern city of Kano denied the claims, which came amid increasingly volatile protests over a government move that ended fuel subsidies on January 1, causing petrol prices to instantly more than double. Meanwhile, rights group Amnesty International called on Nigerian authorities to “immediately end excessive use of force against protesters,” with claims that police shot dead a demonstrator on Tuesday, which they also denied. Also on Thursday, a group of about 30 lawyers marched in the latest demonstration in the economic capital Lagos to denounce the skyrocketing petrol prices.
Nationwide strikes are planned for next week. Protest organisers in Kano said some 300 people were wounded while 19 protesters were arrested and later released.
A Kano police spokesman said criminals had moved in to the area after peaceful protesters had left, forcing police to take action.