GNV News, August 4, 2024

In Nigeria, protests by citizens angered by the rising cost of living have left at least 13 people dead as of August 2, Amnesty International’s Nigeria office has reported. Demonstrations have broken out across the country, including in the capital, Abuja, and the economic hub, Lagos, and clashes between protesters and police have also occurred. In two northern states where government facilities were targeted, night-time curfews have been imposed and hundreds have been arrested.

As a result of the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu, who took office in 2023, Nigeria is facing an economic crisis marked by surging fuel and electricity prices, food inflation, and a plunge in the naira, the country’s currency, leaving people in severe hardship. In June, the consumer inflation rate was recorded at an annual 34%. In response, the president has agreed to a new bill that would roughly double the minimum wage, but given that, in a country of over 200 million people, many are self-employed or unemployed, hardship for citizens is likely to continue.

Learn more about underreported global poverty issues → “Underreported global poverty issues”

Learn more about Nigeria → “Biafra’s Unfinished Dream?”