3 Protesters Of Death In Protests Of High Cost Of Living

UNSPLASH/Colin Lloyd ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - Three protesters have died in the state of Kaduna, Nigeria. The demonstrators protested throughout West Africa against rising cost of living and government issues.

State police spokesman Kaduna Mansur Hassan said police fired tear gas at protesters and not live ammunition.

Police also fired tear gas in the capital Abuja to disperse the crowd of protesters, according to a witness report reported by Reuters on Thursday, August 1.

Protesters demonstrated in Abuja, commercial capital Lagos and several other cities to show dissatisfaction with economic reforms that have caused inflation to run rampant and further add to the difficulties of Nigerians.

The President of Tinbu Ball has promised to make changes that he thinks are necessary to keep his country alive.

Authorities deployed armed security personnel in an effort to prevent potential violence.

In Lagos, armed police watched the protesters walking towards the government building and then proceed to the two locations allowed to protest. Several shopping centers in the city were closed and guarded by many police.

Inspired by protests in Kenya in June that led the government to cancel several tax increases plans, Nigerians mobilized online to demand the re-implementation of gasoline and electricity subsidies, basic and secondary education free of charge, as well as measures to combat insecurity, and other demands.

In Abuja, the military installed roadblocks along the highway to the city, while several protesters gathered at a stadium.

Youths demonstrated in the city of Maiduguri, the center of the country's northeastern militant uprising, amid the very strict presence of security forces, to voice their frustration with the government and its policies.