Hoodlums on Thursday disrupted a protest by fish vendors in Niger State, stealing food items from trucks stuck in traffic along Kaduna Road in the Suleja area of the state.
While confirming the incident, Sadiq Bala, a candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party, PRP, for the Suleja constituency, explained that the fish sellers were protesting the steep increase in fish prices.
Bala noted that the protest began peacefully around 10 am on Thursday but was later hijacked by aggrieved youths, who turned it into a demonstration against hardship.
“The price of a carton of fish was N34,000 yesterday, but this morning the price rose to N48,000, so the reaction was in response to the increase.
“Some passersby came and took over the protest. They blocked the Abuja-Kaduna Road, which is a very busy road, so they were able to draw attention,” Bala stated.
According to Bala, the situation escalated when the hoodlums began stealing from trucks, including Dangote and BUA trucks carrying food items.
“One of the trucks was carrying bags of rice. They were able to overwhelm the driver, and some of them even started celebrating,” he added.
Security operatives intervened, with soldiers and police dispersing the protesters using tear gas.
Confirming the incident, Wasiu Abiodun, spokesman of Niger State Police Command, stated: “There was a protest this morning along Kaduna Road, Suleja, and the protest plan was not communicated to the police. It was later discovered to be hijacked by some miscreants who blocked the highway.
“Area Commander Suleja, ACP Sani Musa, mobilised patrol teams to the scene, dispersed the protesters and cleared the highway for free flow of traffic. However, monitoring continues.”
Residents of Minna, the Niger State capital, and Suleja recently protested the high cost of living in the country.
Demonstrations have also been staged in some parts of the country as prices of food items continue to skyrocket since the removal of the petrol subsidy by the Tinubu-led federal government in May 2023.
