Police fire teargas at protesters, journalist in A’Ibom

Operatives of the Akwa Ibom State Police Command on Friday fired tear gas canisters at a group of protesters who had gathered at the Ibom Plaza to continue the nationwide hunger protest for the second day.

A journalist with the New Nigerian Newspapers in Akwa Ibom State was also teargassed while interviewing the protesters.

Over 15 protesters displayed placards with various inscriptions such as “End Bad Governance in Nigeria,” “End Hunger in Nigeria,” and “Reduce Fuel Price to N100,” among others.

Our correspondent reports that the protesters were singing and chanting solidarity songs when the police opened the canisters on them and marched them to Unity Park, along Udoudoma Avenue, where they had been restricted.

One of the protesters who spoke with journalists on condition of anonymity at the plaza, before the police intervened, said they were protesting because life in Nigeria was becoming increasingly unbearable for the average person.

“We are here to protest against the high cost of fuel. In this country, we can do better as a people. We cannot produce crude oil in Nigeria and buy fuel for N900 per litre. This is unacceptable.

“An average person can no longer feed their family because of the current state of affairs. The Federal Government claims to have increased the minimum wage, but it is worthless as it cannot even buy a bag of rice. If you earn N70,000, you need to borrow N20,000 to buy a bag of rice.
We want the price of a bag of rice to be reduced to N10,000 and the price of fuel to drop to N100,” he said.

The protesters were dispersed by security personnel on the first day of the protest following restrictions and heavy rainfall early on Thursday morning, which lasted for several hours.

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