Nigeria: Violent Protests as Government Doubles Fuel Prices Overnight

January 04, 2012 from Al Jazeera English

At least one person has been killed in protests over rising fuel prices. The cost of petrol more than doubled on Sunday night after the government cancelled fuel subsidies. But hundreds of angry demonstrators responded to the government move in the commercial capital, Lagos, on Tuesday. Protesters shut down petrol stations, formed human barriers along motorways and hijacked buses as police used riot-control tactics to control them Al Jazeera's Gerald Tan reports.

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Nigeria

Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in t... Explore this topic

Protest

An act of defiance or objection by an individual or group of people. Protests can take many forms: peaceful or violent, direct or indirect, large or small. Protests in the news are often political in nature, as groups of citizens voice their disagreement or dissatisfaction. Pr... Explore this topic

Lagos

Lagos is a port city and the most populous city in Lagos State, Nigeria. Officially, the population of Lagos was last recorded in 2006 at 7,937,932. Lagos is the second fastest growing city in Africa and the seventh fastest growing city in the world. Lagos was originally inhab... Explore this topic

Price of petroleum

The price of petroleum as quoted in news generally refers to the spot price per barrel (159 liters) of either WTI/light crude as traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) for delivery at Cushing, Oklahoma, or of Brent as traded on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE, i... Explore this topic

Subsidy

A subsidy is a grant or other financial assistance given by one party for the support or development of another. Subsidy has been used by economists with different meanings and connotations in different contexts. According to one OECD definition, “A subsidy is a measure that k... Explore this topic

Petroleum industry

The petroleum industry includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transporting, and marketing petroleum products. The largest volume products of the industry are fuel oil and gasoline. Petroleum is also the raw material for many chemical products, incl... Explore this topic

Riot control

Riot control refers to the measures used by police, military, or other security forces to control, disperse, and arrest civilians who are involved in a riot, demonstration, or protest. If a riot is spontaneous and irrational, actions which cause people to stop and think for a ... Explore this topic

Filling station

A filling station, fueling station, garage, gasbar, gas station, petrol bunk or petrol pump, petrol garage, petrol station, service station, or servo, is a facility which sells fuel and usually lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold today are gasoline, diese... Explore this topic

Politics of Nigeria

Nigeria is a Federal Republic modeled after the United States, with executive power exercised by the president and with influences from the Westminster System model in the composition and management of the upper and lower houses of the bicameral legislature. However, the Presi... Explore this topic

Al Jazeera English

Al Jazeera English is an international 24-hour English-language news and current affairs TV channel headquartered in Doha, Qatar. It is the sister channel of the Arabic-language Al Jazeera. The station broadcasts news features and analysis, documentaries, live debates, current... Explore this topic

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