Six persons killed as protesters shut down Nigeria

AFP

10 January 2012

Six persons killed  as protesters shut down Nigeria

Nigerian police and protesters clashed on Monday and six people were killed as tens of thousands demonstrated nationwide over fuel price hikes and a general strike shut down the country. The launch of what unions called an indefinite strike came at a crucial moment for the nation, already hit by spiralling violence blamed on Islamist sect Boko Haram. Tensions particularly ran high in Kano, the largest city in Nigeria's north, when thousands converged on the state governor's office, prompting police to push them back as they fired tear gas and shot into the air. Also in Kano, two vans were set ablaze and protesters tried to torch the home of central bank chief Lamido Sanusi, but police stopped them.

The office of the secretary of the state government -- its highest administrative officer -- was also set ablaze, causing serious damage. A Red Cross official said in the afternoon that 30 injured had been counted in Kano, including 18 with gunshot wounds. A hospital source said later that two of those shot had died. The head of Nigeria's human rights commission, Chidi Odinkalu, said a nine-year-old had also been reported trampled to death there. The state government imposed a nighttime curfew on the city and it was unclear whether authorities would disperse thousands of protesters who remained at the city's main square. A curfew was also slapped on the capital of northern Zamfara after some protesters smashed the windows of a church.

In the southern city of Benin, protesters attacked a mosque and wounded several people, leading police to fire tear gas, police and witnesses said. A witness said he saw police take away a man with a machete cut on his head.  Protests appeared mainly peaceful in the economic capital Lagos, the largest city in Africa's most populous nation, though three people were shot dead there, said Odinkalu, bringing the nationwide toll to six. In one of the killings in Lagos, a police officer was accused of shooting the victim. Police confirmed the death and said the officer was arrested. Bonfires made of tyres burned along main roads as protesters marched past, with an estimated 10,000 or more converging at a designated location for a rally.