The increasing cost of living in the country took a new turn on Thursday when a truck carrying food items was attacked in Suleja area of Niger State.
In Borno State, hundreds of residents in Dikwa town protested and expressed serious concerns about hunger, even threatening to join terrorists in the state.
These events are happening against the backdrop of nationwide hardship that has led to protests in various parts of the country.
Earlier this month, there was a demonstration in Minna, the capital of Niger State, where a group of women blocked the Minna-Bida Road at the popular Kpakungu roundabout to voice their grievances about the escalating cost of food items, making it increasingly difficult for millions of people to access three square meals a day.
Alhassan Abdullahi, a witness, told our correspondent that many trucks from Abuja and heading for Kaduna were blocked by the hoodlums, who burnt tyres on the road.
He said many bags of assorted foodstuffs, especially rice, were stolen before soldiers arrived at the scene.
“It took the intervention of soldiers who arrived at the scene and started firing gunshots in the air to scare the hoodlums away. But even at that, many of them went away with bags of rice and cartons of spaghetti and other food items.
“We learnt commercial motorcycle riders are also planning a protest. They would have done it since yesterday but we didn’t know what stopped them,” he said.