Nigeria fuel protests continue

Obasanjo: Warned over fuel prices

LAGOS, Nigeria -- Heavily armed police in pick-up trucks have surrounded the site of a planned protest over rising fuel prices in Lagos.

Thousands of noisy Lagos residents defied a police warning that the rally was illegal and began arriving at the site in the industrial district of Ikeja.

"Police in 30 trucks have surrounded the place, but are not disturbing anybody," said one witness.

Authorities warned leaders of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) not to go ahead with the rally in Lagos, where such protests have degenerated into violence in the past.

The NLC called on workers in Nigeria's 36 states to mount a week long campaign of rallies and marches to protest against government plans to cut subsidies on petroleum products.

The government says deregulation of fuel marketing and an end to costly subsidies are crucial to ending long-running shortages, blamed largely on inefficient domestic refineries.

The NLC argues that deregulation would drive up prices of fuel, transport and food. It has vowed to make Nigeria ungovernable if President Olusegun Obasanjo ignores its warnings.

Eight states kicked off the rallies on Tuesday amid a massive police presence, most notably in Kano, a city in northern Nigeria.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Nigerian Government information

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