Residents of Minna, the Niger State capital have taken to the streets to protest over the rising cost of living in the country.
The protest started today when a group of youths and women blocked the Minna-Bida Road at the Kpakungu roundabout to register their grievances over the issue.
One of the protesters Ibrahim Gana, lamented the rising prices of staple foods like rice and maize, which he said have become unaffordable for many Nigerians.
The Niger State Command spokesman, Wasiu Abiodun, who reacted to the protest, said the police had to apply minimum force to disperse the protesters.
Efforts by the police to control the crowd almost resulted in violence as protesters asked police to leave, forcing the police to fire several shots in the air.
The police operatives had to resort to firing teargas in the direction of the protesters to disperse them, but the youths continued their protest.
Meanwhile…
The Deputy Governor of Niger State, Yakubu Garba has appealed for calm among protesting residents of the Minna metropolis.
Mr Garba who addressed the protesters at the Kpakungu roundabout said the state government was aware of the economic hardship faced by its citizens.
The Deputy Governor urged them to remain calm, as modalities have been put in place to ease their sufferings.
He added that the state government would continue to distribute palliatives to vulnerable groups in society.
The state government’s appeal followed the protest by youths and women, who converged in their numbers to express anger over the current economic hardship in the country.