Protests erupt in Ibadan, Oyo over hunger, may spread to more cities

 

Protests are being held in the Nigerian cities of Oyo and Ibadan against the rising cost of living.

The latest demonstrations in the south of the country follow similar ones held in northern Nigeria two weeks ago.

The protests may spread to more cities if the situation did not improve in the next few days.

Protesters are angry at the high rate of inflation, driven largely by high food prices and the government's decision to end a long-running fuel subsidy.

On Friday, the African Development Bank warned that Nigeria could see social unrest caused by rising fuel and food prices.

In its economic outlook for this year, the bank warned that other countries, including Kenya, Ethiopia and Angola could face similar problems.

Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu has declared a state of emergency to tackle rising food prices and shortages since July last year.

Some of the initiatives include using money saved by the recent removal of a fuel subsidy to provide fertiliser and grain to farmers.

However, no significant result has been achieved to arrest the high cost of living among the poor

A UN report in January projected that 25 million Nigerians were at high risk of food insecurity this year - meaning they would not be able to afford enough nutritious food every day.

Concerns about food insecurity have been longstanding in Nigeria - Africa's most-populous country, which has also been battling widespread insecurity for several years.