Protesters Against Hunger, High Cost Of Living, Block Roads In Minna

Thousands of residents of Minna, the Niger State capital, on Monday, February 5, 2024, took to the streets in protest against what they described as severe hunger and escalating cost of living in the country.

In the process, gunshots were fired by the Police to disperse the protesters, who were out as early as 7 am, blocking the Minna-Bida Road at the popular Kpakungu roundabout to express their grievances over the rising cost of food items.

Forming impenetrable barricades that disrupted both vehicular and human traffic on some of the major roads within the metropolis, the protesters, including women, and youths, chanted different songs against the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Some of the protesters were shouting at the top of their voices saying that the rising cost of food items and poor government efforts towards arresting the unfortunate development forced them to come out of their houses to block major roads to draw the attention of the government to their worsening conditions

They also complained that while the people were experiencing excruciating pains as a result of government policies that were not well thought out, public officeholders were living in luxury at the expense of the people.

Addressing the protesters, the Niger State Deputy Governor, Yakubu Garba, said that the government was conscious and quite aware of their plight, pains and hardship being faced by families.

Garba assured that the government at all levels is working hard towards mitigating the high cost of living arising from the removal of the petrol subsidy.

Security agencies that included police, Civil defence among others merely followed the protesters to prevent them from vandalising both public and private business concerns.

This was after the initial efforts by the police to control the crowd almost resulted in violence as protesters asked the police to take their leave and let them be.