Labour unions call indefinite strike over cost of living in Nigeria

Nigeria's two biggest workers' unions plan to start an indefinite strike next week to protest against a cost-of-living crisis after the government scrapped a popular but costly petrol subsidy, union leaders said on Tuesday.

Unions have been pushing President Bola Tinubu to reverse his decision in May to scrap the decades-old subsidy that had kept fuel prices low but was draining government finances.

Prices have risen sharply, including the cost of food, transport and power as most businesses and households rely on petrol generators for electricity.

The Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Nigeria, the biggest unions, said they would begin the strike on Oct. 3.

"It's going to be a total shutdown ... until government meets the demand of Nigerian workers, and in fact Nigerian masses," the union leaders said in a joint statement.

"The Federal Government has refused to meaningfully engage and reach agreements with organised labour on critical issues of the consequences of the unfortunate hike in price of petrol which has unleashed massive suffering on Nigeria workers and masses."

The government had urged unions to continue negotiations instead of resorting to strikes, saying this would hurt an economy grappling with double-digit inflation, foreign currency shortages and low oil production.

Tinubu has defended his two biggest reforms - removal of the subsidy and foreign exchange controls - saying although this would lead to hardships in the short term, they were necessary to attract investment and boost government finances. 

By Camillus Eboh, Reuters

14 students abducted in Zamfara, Nigeria rescued

Security forces have rescued 14 of at least 20 students abducted from a university in northwestern Nigeria and are searching for the remaining captives, school authorities say.

Gunmen attacked the school in Zamfara state’s Bungudu district last week and fled with the students and some workers in the first mass school abduction in Nigeria since President Bola Tinubu took office in May.

The 14 students from the Federal University Gusau were rescued with two other people, a statement from the university said on Monday without providing details about when they were freed or the nature of the rescue operation.

“The sad and unfortunate incident has indeed thrown the University community into serious tension and apprehension,” the statement said, adding that security forces were “doing their best” to rescue the remaining students. It also said steps were being taken to boost security around the university.

Such abductions from schools are common in northwestern and central Nigeria, where armed groups often take people hostage in exchange for huge ransoms that analysts said help them to buy guns and sustain their operations.

Nigeria’s military has been fighting armed groups like Boko Haram in the northeast, which has left it thinly stretched to tackle the kidnapping gangs, known locally as bandits.

The bandits are believed to be mostly ethnic Fulanis, but pastoralists and mercenaries from the region as well as neighbouring Chad and Niger are also involved.

An estimated 12,000 people died and hundreds of thousands more displaced across the northwestern states of Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina and Kaduna from 2011 to 2022 due to the crisis, according to the Centre for Democracy and Development, an Abuja-based policy and advocacy think tank.

In Zamfara, one of the kidnap-for-ransom hot spots, many vigilante groups have sprung up with teenagers joining their ranks and wielding knives and clubs.

The latest attack poses a new challenge to Tinubu, who extended the ruling party’s reign with his election victory after promising to solve Nigeria’s security crisis. It adds to growing pressure from the opposition and activists who have accused Tinubu of not doing enough to guarantee security.

Armed groups have been carrying out attacks in many remote communities, often taking advantage of the inadequate security presence in those areas.

While condemning the university abductions in a statement issued by his office on Sunday, Tinubu said his government is “determined to ensure that educational institutions remain sanctuaries of knowledge, growth, and opportunity, and totally free from the menacing acts of terrorists”.

Al Jazeera

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According to the regional governor’s spokesperson, 24 students, ten workers and a security guard were seized in the early hours of Friday from the Federal University of Gusau in Nigeria. 

CGTN 

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14 killed, 60 kidnapped in Gunmen attack in Nigeria

Gunmen in Nigeria killed eight people on Sunday and abducted at least 60 others in two communities of northwest Zamfara state, residents and a local traditional leader said, two days after armed men kidnapped dozens from a university in the state.

Elsewhere, in the northeast of the country suspected Islamist insurgents ambushed a convoy of vehicles under military escort, killing two soldiers and four civilians, said a police source and a motorist who witnessed the attack.

The attackers set fire to five vehicles and drove off with one truck, the witness said.

President Bola Tinubu is yet to spell out how he will tackle widespread insecurity. His economic reforms, including the removal of a costly fuel subsidy and freeing the naira currency, have increased the cost of leaving, angering citizens.

Residents said gunmen early on Sunday tried to attack a forward army base in a rural Magami community of Zamfara, but were repelled. Zamfara is one of the states worst affected by kidnappings for ransom by armed gangs known locally as bandits.

The gunmen in three groups attacked the army base and the communities of Magami and Kabasa, said a traditional leader who declined to be named for security reasons.

He said 60 people, mostly women and children, were kidnapped.

"The bandits rode many motorcycles with guns and other weapons (and) were shooting sporadically," Shuaibu Haruna, a resident of Magami, told Reuters by telephone.

Four people were killed during the attack, said Haruna, who attended their burial.

Isa Mohd from Kabasa community said four people were also killed and dozens of others kidnapped.

Police and army did not respond to requests for comment.

Attacks in the northwest are part of widespread insecurity in Nigeria. Islamist fighters still carry out deadly attacks in the northeast, gangs and separatists attack security forces and government buildings in the southeast, and clashes involving farmers and herders continue to claim lives.

By Ahmed Kingimi, Reuters

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Video - Experts wary of oil fortunes in Nigeria after August boom

In August, Nigeria’s earnings from the export of crude oil grew by 188.7 billion naira (245 million U.S. dollars) due to an increase in the production of the commodity by foreign and domestic players. This financial windfall rode on the back of an increase in global oil prices. But experts worry the joy in the industry may be short-lived due to subpar crude production and the government’s huge spending.

CGTN