Nigerians Protest Soaring Living Costs

Hundreds of Nigerians demonstrated against the soaring cost of living in the south of the country after huge protests in the north earlier this month.

Nigeria is suffering an economic crisis and soaring prices have left many people struggling to afford food.

Demonstrators in the southwestern city Ibadan were furious with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's leadership.

Watched over by armed police and soldiers, the protesters closed a road and chanted, carrying signs that said "End bad government", "End food scarcity" and "End Nigerian hardship".

After coming to office last year Tinubu ended a fuel subsidy and currency controls, leading to a tripling of petrol prices and a spike in living costs as the naira has slid against the dollar.

Tinubu has repeatedly called for patience to allow his reforms to take effect, saying they will help attract foreign investment, but the measures have hit Nigerians hard.

The country's inflation rate reached almost 30 percent in January, according to the national bureau of statistics.

Many poor Nigerians have had to give up products considered a luxury, such as meat, eggs and milk.

Dire conditions in the north have sparked protests in several cities including Suleja near the capital Abuja, Minna in Niger State, and the economic hub of Kano.

The crisis has forced people in the north to skip meals and eat poor-grade rice used as fish food.

To feed their children, women have even resorted to digging up anthills in search of grain stored by the insects, according to videos on social media.

Earlier this month the influential traditional emir of Kano Aminu Ado Bayero warned that Nigerians faced "economic hardships, hunger and starvation" and called on the president to take urgent action.