ABUJA: Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called for a nationwide suspension protest and finally”bloody“on the Sunday after security forces cracked down on the passing rally economic hardship.
Thousands of people began taking to the streets last week to protest government policies and the high cost of living.
Rights groups Amnesty International have accused security forces of killing at least 13 protesters on the first day of protests on Friday, while police said seven people had died and denied responsibility.
In a televised address, Tinubu called on protesters “to postpone further protests and create space for dialogue,” his first public comments since the rally began.
“I have heard you loud and clear. I understand the pain and frustration that caused the protests, and I want to assure you that our government is committed to listening to and addressing the concerns of our citizens,” he said.
“But we must not allow violence and destruction to destroy our nation,” he said. “We must stop more bloodshed”.
Hunger and deep poverty
Tinubu blamed the committee for failing to prevent disruptions, and used the speech to defend his record and outlined measures that would benefit Nigerians and the economy.
Africa’s most populous country is facing its worst economic crisis in a generation with high inflation and a tumbling naira after Tinubu ended fuel subsidies and currency controls more than a year ago.
The World Bank and the US-based International Monetary Fund said the measures were needed to revive the economy and the president again called for patience in his speech, saying the reforms would attract foreign investors.
However, the move dealt a severe blow to Nigerians. Food prices rose and hunger spread, especially in the north.
Dubbed #EndbadGovernanceinNigeria, the protest movement gained support with an online campaign calling on the government to lower fuel prices and address the cost of living crisis, among other demands.
But authorities warned that they would try to copy recent anti-government protests in Kenya, where protesters forced the president to abandon new taxes.
Damilare Adenola, leader of the Take It Back group that organized the protest in the capital Abuja, said the president “does not have the right to suppress the expression of suffering citizens.”
“As for the bloodshed, it is his government that must stop killing peaceful protesters, because it will not stop the protests,” he told AFP.
Tinubu said that “security operators must continue to maintain peace, law and order in our country after the necessary convention on human rights.”
The country’s police force said it had arrested nearly 700 people in the first two days of the demonstrations, charging them with “armed robbery, arson, mischief” and property damage.
Amnesty called on the police to release the protesters and refrain from live fire to disperse the crowd.
On Friday, it said “security personnel at the location where lives were lost deliberately used tactics designed to kill when dealing with gatherings of people protesting hunger and deep poverty.”
The canoe is dead
The protests subsided in many places on Saturday, but security forces again fired tear gas at protesters in Abuja and residents told AFP that police killed three people at a rally in the northern city of Kano.
The city has seen intense clashes in recent days and residents said police in the Rijiyar Lemo district fired live shots and tear gas at a stone-throwing crowd on Saturday evening.
Resident Sanusi Usman said the police used “live bullets to disperse the crowd.”
“Three people died, including two small children and a pregnant woman who was hit while crossing the road,” he said.
Awwalu Ibrahim, another resident, also told AFP that “three people were hit and killed, two boys and a pregnant woman who were crossing the highway.”
“One of the boys was nine years old,” Ibrahim said. “He is my neighbor’s son.”
Police have not responded to requests for comment.
Thousands of people began taking to the streets last week to protest government policies and the high cost of living.
Rights groups Amnesty International have accused security forces of killing at least 13 protesters on the first day of protests on Friday, while police said seven people had died and denied responsibility.
In a televised address, Tinubu called on protesters “to postpone further protests and create space for dialogue,” his first public comments since the rally began.
“I have heard you loud and clear. I understand the pain and frustration that caused the protests, and I want to assure you that our government is committed to listening to and addressing the concerns of our citizens,” he said.
“But we must not allow violence and destruction to destroy our nation,” he said. “We must stop more bloodshed”.
Hunger and deep poverty
Tinubu blamed the committee for failing to prevent disruptions, and used the speech to defend his record and outlined measures that would benefit Nigerians and the economy.
Africa’s most populous country is facing its worst economic crisis in a generation with high inflation and a tumbling naira after Tinubu ended fuel subsidies and currency controls more than a year ago.
The World Bank and the US-based International Monetary Fund said the measures were needed to revive the economy and the president again called for patience in his speech, saying the reforms would attract foreign investors.
However, the move dealt a severe blow to Nigerians. Food prices rose and hunger spread, especially in the north.
Dubbed #EndbadGovernanceinNigeria, the protest movement gained support with an online campaign calling on the government to lower fuel prices and address the cost of living crisis, among other demands.
But authorities warned that they would try to copy recent anti-government protests in Kenya, where protesters forced the president to abandon new taxes.
Damilare Adenola, leader of the Take It Back group that organized the protest in the capital Abuja, said the president “does not have the right to suppress the expression of suffering citizens.”
“As for the bloodshed, it is his government that must stop killing peaceful protesters, because it will not stop the protests,” he told AFP.
Tinubu said that “security operators must continue to maintain peace, law and order in our country after the necessary convention on human rights.”
The country’s police force said it had arrested nearly 700 people in the first two days of the demonstrations, charging them with “armed robbery, arson, mischief” and property damage.
Amnesty called on the police to release the protesters and refrain from live fire to disperse the crowd.
On Friday, it said “security personnel at the location where lives were lost deliberately used tactics designed to kill when dealing with gatherings of people protesting hunger and deep poverty.”
The canoe is dead
The protests subsided in many places on Saturday, but security forces again fired tear gas at protesters in Abuja and residents told AFP that police killed three people at a rally in the northern city of Kano.
The city has seen intense clashes in recent days and residents said police in the Rijiyar Lemo district fired live shots and tear gas at a stone-throwing crowd on Saturday evening.
Resident Sanusi Usman said the police used “live bullets to disperse the crowd.”
“Three people died, including two small children and a pregnant woman who was hit while crossing the road,” he said.
Awwalu Ibrahim, another resident, also told AFP that “three people were hit and killed, two boys and a pregnant woman who were crossing the highway.”
“One of the boys was nine years old,” Ibrahim said. “He is my neighbor’s son.”
Police have not responded to requests for comment.
