Operatives of the Akwa Ibom State Police Command fired tear gas canisters at a group of protesters gathered at Ibom Plaza on Friday. The protesters were continuing the nationwide hunger protest for the second consecutive day.
Among those affected was a journalist from the New Nigerian Newspapers in Akwa Ibom State, who was teargassed while interviewing the protesters.
Over 15 protesters were seen displaying placards with various inscriptions such as “End Bad Governance in Nigeria,” “End Hunger in Nigeria,” and “Reduce Fuel Price to N100.” The protesters were singing and chanting solidarity songs when the police intervened, dispersing them with tear gas and marching them to Unity Park along Udoudoma Avenue, where they were restricted.
One protester, speaking anonymously before the police intervention, explained the motivation behind the demonstration: “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.”
The protest’s first day was also disrupted by security personnel due to restrictions and heavy rainfall early Thursday morning.
