As thousands of Nigerians marched in a peaceful protest of steep increases in fuel prices in Africa's largest oil producer
As thousands of Nigerians marched in a peaceful protest of steep increases in fuel prices in Africa's largest oil producer.
More than 20,000 protesters were on the streets, carrying banners reading, "We want a government of the people," and chanting "President Olusegun Obasanjo is an oppressor!" Hundreds of motorbike taxi riders joined the protest along a Lagos highway. Shops and markets in the sprawling city were closed and cars stayed off the roads.
Nobel Prize-winning author Wole Soyinka, who is an outspoken government critic, labor union leader Adams Oshiomhole and Catholic Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie addressed the crowd at the governor's office.
The rally was peaceful, but the private TV station Channels showed pro-government thugs armed with batons marching through one area of Lagos, intimidating residents from joining the demonstrations.
The government ordered price increases last month of up to 40 percent on fuels such as gas and diesel to try to bring the subsidized prices closer in line with international norms.
