Nigeria’s security forces have killed at least 13 people protesting against economic hardship, rights groups say. 

Security forces reportedly killed six protesters in the city of Suleja near the capital, four in the northeastern city of Maiduguri and three in the northwest city of Kaduna on Thursday.

Police in Maiduguri said four people were killed in blasts, without elaborating.

On Thursday, the national police chief rejected reports that officers had attacked peaceful demonstrators.

Inspector General Kayode Egbetokun said in a statement on X that he had “placed all units on red alert” to respond to “further threats to public safety and order.”

Nigeria, one of Africa’s top oil producers, has been engulfed by protests over the high cost of living and corruption.

More than 300 protesters were arrested in the protests that also triggered curfews in several states.

At least five states, including Kano, Yobe, Katsina, Borno and Jigawa, remained under curfew on Friday. At the same time, security forces used tear gas against small groups of protesters who took to the streets of the capital Abuja for a second day of rallies.

A small protest also took place on Friday in the Ojota area Of Nigeria’s economic hub of Lagos.

The country, which has some of the world’s poorest and hungriest people, is grappling with high inflation and a tumbling naira after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu removed fuel subsidies and liberalized the currency as part of the government’s reforms to grow the economy.

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