Nigerians defy order to end strikeThursday, January 12, 2012Agence France-PresseA man demonstrates at Gani Fawehinmi Park in LagosWednesday in the third day of a nationwide strike protestingagainst President Goodluck Jonathan's government for scrappinghis country's oil subsidy.Photographed by:Pius Utomi Ekpei, AFP, Getty Images, Agence France-PresseTens of thousands of Nigerians defied an order to end a three-day-old strike Wednesday as unions threatened to halt output inAfrica's top crude producer and a mob rampage left a policeofficer dead.The strike over soaring fuel prices sank the continentalheavyweight deeper into crisis, with deadly religious violencethat saw four Christians gunned down on Wednesday, sparkingwarnings of a looming civil war.The tensions have left the global oil market watching anxiouslyand President Goodluck Jonathan facing his toughest challengesince he was elected last year.Despite a government order late Tuesday that labelled the strikeillegal and threatened to withhold pay, protesters took to thestreets as gangs of youths burnt tires and harassed drivers forcash.Pockets of Lagos, the largest city in Africa's most populous nation,descended into chaos, including one upscale neighbourhood,with gangs attacking a police car with sticks and ripping downsignposts.The main groups of protesters in Lagos however remainedpeaceful, with about 10,000 people at one of the largestdemonstrations dancing and singing anti-government songs.Some vowed they would begin camping out there."I am here with my water and toothbrush because we are notleaving this arena until our demand for fuel at 65 naira (40 cents)is met," said Akinola Oyebode, a 23-year-old at the main protestin Lagos.He was referring to the price of a litre of gas before governmentsubsidies were controversially scrapped from Jan. 1."We shall not be intimidated by the police because our protest islegitimate and constitutional."In the central city of Minna, a mob went on the rampage, burningpolitical offices, leaving a police officer dead and prompting anall-day curfew. The cause of the violence was not immediatelyclear.In Kano, the largest city in the north, a massive crowd estimatedin the tens of thousands marched through the streets.Protesters and police had clashed in Kano on Monday, leaving atleast two people shot dead, but no incidents were reported onWednesday.Oil production has so far not been affected by the strike, butworkers threatened action if the government does not respond totheir demands."We hereby direct all production platforms to be on red alert inpreparation for total production shutdown," PENGASSAN unionpresident Babatunde Ogun said in a statement as union officialsmet in the oil hub of Port Harcourt.The other oil workers' union, NUPENG, also threatened ashutdown.Tens of thousands have turned out this week for protestsnationwide over the government's move to end fuel subsidies,which caused gasoline prices to more than double in a countrywhere most people live on less than $2 per day.At least six people were killed on the first day of protests,including one person allegedly shot by police in Lagos.Local media reported that three others were killed insouthwestern Ogun and Osun states on Tuesday, one by a policeofficer, but authorities have not confirmed the deaths.Meanwhile, spiralling ethnic and religious violence in variousparts of the country has fuelled further chaos amid warnings of awider conflict in a country roughly divided between a mainlyMuslim north and predominantly Christian south.Twenty people were killed in four separate incidents in the latestsuch violence.The attacks included the shooting dead of four Christian Igbos onWednesday by suspected members of Islamist group Boko Haramon the outskirts of the northeastern city of Potiskum, according toresidents.Yobe state, where Potiskum is located and which has been hit byrepeated violence, also declared a night curfew.Separately, a police station in the northeastern city of Yola wasattacked by unknown gunmen on Wednesday, killing one officer,police said.Boko Haram has been blamed for scores of attacks, and in recentweeks has claimed responsibility for violence targeting Christians,who have vowed to defend themselves.A video has emerged on YouTube purporting to show suspectedBoko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau sending a message to thepresident, but the person in the clip appears significantly differentfrom previous images said to be of Shekau.

Thursday, January 12, 2012
Agence France-Presse
A man demonstrates at Gani Fawehinmi Park in Lagos
Wednesday in the third day of a nationwide strike protesting
against President Goodluck Jonathan's government for scrapping
his country's oil subsidy.
Photographed by:
Pius Utomi Ekpei, AFP, Getty Images, Agence France-Presse
Tens of thousands of Nigerians defied an order to end a three-
day-old strike Wednesday as unions threatened to halt output in
Africa's top crude producer and a mob rampage left a police
officer dead.
The strike over soaring fuel prices sank the continental
heavyweight deeper into crisis, with deadly religious violence
that saw four Christians gunned down on Wednesday, sparking
warnings of a looming civil war.
The tensions have left the global oil market watching anxiously
and President Goodluck Jonathan facing his toughest challenge
since he was elected last year.
Despite a government order late Tuesday that labelled the strike
illegal and threatened to withhold pay, protesters took to the
streets as gangs of youths burnt tires and harassed drivers for
cash.
Pockets of Lagos, the largest city in Africa's most populous nation,
descended into chaos, including one upscale neighbourhood,
with gangs attacking a police car with sticks and ripping down
signposts.
The main groups of protesters in Lagos however remained
peaceful, with about 10,000 people at one of the largest
demonstrations dancing and singing anti-government songs.
Some vowed they would begin camping out there.
"I am here with my water and toothbrush because we are not
leaving this arena until our demand for fuel at 65 naira (40 cents)
is met," said Akinola Oyebode, a 23-year-old at the main protest
in Lagos.
He was referring to the price of a litre of gas before government
subsidies were controversially scrapped from Jan. 1.
"We shall not be intimidated by the police because our protest is
legitimate and constitutional."
In the central city of Minna, a mob went on the rampage, burning
political offices, leaving a police officer dead and prompting an
all-day curfew. The cause of the violence was not immediately
clear.
In Kano, the largest city in the north, a massive crowd estimated
in the tens of thousands marched through the streets.
Protesters and police had clashed in Kano on Monday, leaving at
least two people shot dead, but no incidents were reported on
Wednesday.
Oil production has so far not been affected by the strike, but
workers threatened action if the government does not respond to
their demands.
"We hereby direct all production platforms to be on red alert in
preparation for total production shutdown," PENGASSAN union
president Babatunde Ogun said in a statement as union officials
met in the oil hub of Port Harcourt.
The other oil workers' union, NUPENG, also threatened a
shutdown.
Tens of thousands have turned out this week for protests
nationwide over the government's move to end fuel subsidies,
which caused gasoline prices to more than double in a country
where most people live on less than $2 per day.
At least six people were killed on the first day of protests,
including one person allegedly shot by police in Lagos.
Local media reported that three others were killed in
southwestern Ogun and Osun states on Tuesday, one by a police
officer, but authorities have not confirmed the deaths.
Meanwhile, spiralling ethnic and religious violence in various
parts of the country has fuelled further chaos amid warnings of a
wider conflict in a country roughly divided between a mainly
Muslim north and predominantly Christian south.
Twenty people were killed in four separate incidents in the latest
such violence.
The attacks included the shooting dead of four Christian Igbos on
Wednesday by suspected members of Islamist group Boko Haram
on the outskirts of the northeastern city of Potiskum, according to
residents.
Yobe state, where Potiskum is located and which has been hit by
repeated violence, also declared a night curfew.
Separately, a police station in the northeastern city of Yola was
attacked by unknown gunmen on Wednesday, killing one officer,
police said.
Boko Haram has been blamed for scores of attacks, and in recent
weeks has claimed responsibility for violence targeting Christians,
who have vowed to defend themselves.
A video has emerged on YouTube purporting to show suspected
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau sending a message to the
president, but the person in the clip appears significantly different
from previous images said to be of Shekau.