Thousands of Minna residents barricaded the road linking Minna city and Bida town in Niger State on Monday in protest over the economic distress in the country since Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office as Nigeria’s president on May 29, 2023.
Africa’s largest economy took a nosedive in response to Tinubu’s wide-ranging reforms aimed at revitalizing growth in the country.
The reforms, including scrapping a petrol subsidy have pushed up the price of gas, goods and cost of transportation. The devaluation of the local currency, the naira, has persisted despite recent moves by the Central Bank of Nigeria to clear the backlog of foreign exchange forward contracts.
The protesters said they could not cope with the rising cost of living. They carried placards, some of which had captions like “No food”, “We are dying of hunger”, “Save our families” etc.
The protesters defied a police patrol team deployed to disperse them. The irate mob chased the police officers away, damaging a police van.
To avoid an escalation of the situation, the police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun said the officers resorted to the use of “minimum force” to restore law and order.
—Ezinwanne Onwuka reports for TruthNigeria from Abuja.
