In Nigeria, gunmen on motorcycles have raided several villages in the northern state of Zamfara, stealing cattle, attacking farmers and running down anyone attempting to flee. Residents said at least 53 people were killed in the assaults on Thursday and Friday.
Elsewhere in Nigeria, police fired their guns into the air and shot tear gas at anti-government protesters who rallied in Lagos, Abuja and other cities on Saturday. The protesters were denouncing rising insecurity and economic policies that have left one-third of Nigerians unemployed. Police were seen smashing the cellphones of protesters who were denouncing a ban on Twitter by President Muhammadu Buhari. This is a protester in Lagos.
Samson Okafor: “We cannot continue like this. You want to stop us not to protest for our rights. We must protest for our rights. This is our rights. Revolution must start from today. So, all this killing must stop. All this bad government must stop. Buhari, we don’t need you again.”
The protests came on Democracy Day, a national holiday marking the date in 1999 Nigeria’s military dictatorship ceded power to a civilian government.