Gunshots were fired by the Police to disperse residents of Minna, the Niger State capital, who were protesting against the rising cost of living.
As early as 7am on Monday, a group of women blocked Minna-Bida Road at the popular Kpakungu roundabout to express their grievances over the rising cost of food items.
They were later joined by men, who stopped vehicles from moving.
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.
One of the youths, Ibrahim Gana, said rice was sold at the cost of N2,000 per mudu at Minna markets while maize was N1, 000 per measure.
“The Federal Government needs to take action to reduce the hardship being faced by the poor Nigerians. Things are becoming unbearable,” he said.
Spokesperson of the Niger State Police Command, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, could not be reached as at the time of filing this report.
