Protesters have scampered for safety at the Lekki toll-gate area of Lagos state. The protest is taking place amid tight security presence.
A youth-led nationwide protest against the soaring cost of living began on Thursday.
In Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, protesters began their marches from Ikeja, Ojota and Lekki. There are also pockets of protests in other parts of the metropolis.
The police had warned the demonstrators against converging on the tollgate because the site — scene of a “massacre” during the anti-police brutality protests of 2020 was not one of the approved venues for the protest.
On July 30, the Lagos state government secured a court order restricting protesters to the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park in Ojota and Peace Park, Ketu.
Emmanuel Ogundare, a judge at the Lagos high court, granted the restriction order while ruling on an ex parte application filed by Lawal Pedro, the state’s attorney general.
Police have also been firing teargas at protesters in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.
Inflation has spiralled in Nigeria since President Bola Tinubu ended the petrol subsidy regime and unified the forex windows in 2023.
