Hundreds of youths in Kano who had planned to express their displeasure over the recent hike in the pump price of petroleum and electricity tariff were chased away by security operatives on Tuesday.
The protest, led by a civil society organization – Joint Action Front (JAF) – had earlier started as a rally in front of the premises of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) along Farm Center Road amidst heavy security presence.
Security agents made up of police, DSS and NCDC stopped the angry youths from staging their protest in the metropolis on Tuesday morning.
After the blockage, the JAF chairman, Dr Musa Bashir, and secretary, Abba Bello Ahmed, in a statement titled: “Our demands”, called on the Federal government to reverse the price of fuel from N160 to the 2012 price of N86, as well as reverse the increase in electricity tariffs and Value Added Tax (VAT).
“The government has the responsibility to make our refineries work and build new ones in order to ensure the availability of petroleum products at cheaper and affordable prices.”
The group also called on the Federal government to re-engineer the security apparatus to ensure organised crimes such as terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and armed robbery are curtailed.