Akwa Ibom Day 2: Police Fire Tear Gas at Protesters, Journalist

On Friday, the Akwa Ibom State Police Command fired tear gas at a group of protesters who had gathered at Ibom Plaza as part of a nationwide demonstration against hunger. The protest, now in its second day, saw demonstrators advocating for better governance and relief from economic hardships.

A journalist from the *New Nigerian Newspapers* was also caught in the crossfire, inhaling tear gas while conducting interviews with the protesters.

The protest involved over 15 individuals holding placards with messages such as “End Bad Governance in Nigeria,” “End Hunger in Nigeria,” and “Reduce Fuel Price to N100.”

According to our correspondent, the protesters were peacefully singing and chanting solidarity songs when police officers deployed tear gas and escorted them to Unity Park on Udoudoma Avenue, effectively restricting their movement.

One protester, who requested anonymity, explained the motivation behind the demonstration: “We are here to protest against the high cost of fuel. Life in Nigeria is becoming increasingly unbearable for the average person. We produce crude oil here, yet we’re forced to buy fuel at N900 per litre. This is unacceptable.”

The protester continued, “An average person can no longer feed their family because of the current state of affairs. The Federal Government claims to have increased the minimum wage, but it’s meaningless if it can’t even buy a bag of rice. If you earn N70,000, you still need to borrow N20,000 just to buy a bag of rice. We want the price of a bag of rice reduced to N10,000 and fuel prices dropped to N100.”

This protest followed a previous attempt on Thursday, which was disrupted by security personnel and heavy rainfall that persisted for several hours. Despite these challenges, the demonstrators remained determined to voice their grievances.