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LAGOS — Nigerian police said Tuesday they had arrested more than 90 demonstrators carrying Russian flags during protests over economic hardship.
Thousands of people took part in protests against government policies and the high cost of living last week as Africa’s most populous country grapples with its worst economic crisis in decades.
While rallies died down in much of the country after clashes with security forces, hundreds of protesters took to the streets on Monday in northern states, including Kaduna, Katsina and Kano, and in the central state of Plateau.
AFP reporters and witnesses saw some demonstrators carrying Russian flags, but the Russian Embassy kept its distance.
Northern Nigeria has close cultural, religious and socioeconomic ties with its neighbors in the Sahel region, which has seen a series of coups and military leaders turn away from Western allies and toward Russia.
The Russian flag has appeared at rallies in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, and its presence in Nigeria has prompted a strong reaction from officials.
When asked about protesters in Nigeria, police spokesman Olumuyiwa Adejobi said “we have arrested more than 90 protesters carrying Russian flags.”
Late on Tuesday, security chiefs from the armed forces to the police held a rare joint briefing amid allegations that unnamed “supporters” were seeking to undermine the government, without providing evidence.
“Some of the instigators of these protests have a clear motive to overthrow the current government and we will not allow that to happen and we will defend our democracy,” said Police Commissioner Kayode Egbetokun.
He claimed that some of the sponsors were “abroad” and said “we had to arrest the people holding the flags to find the sponsors.”
Defense Minister General Christopher Musa said on Monday that those who forced individuals to carry Russian flags in Nigeria “crossed the red line and we will not accept this behavior.”
Damilare Adenola, leader of the Take It Back group that organised the protest in Abuja, refuted the allegations, saying they were “just a diversion”.
He said authorities were using the charges as “justification to crack down on protesters”.
The Russian Embassy in Nigeria denied any involvement in a statement on its website on Monday.
The statement said that neither the Russian government nor Russian officials participated in these activities or coordinated them in any way.
Rights group Amnesty International accused security forces of killing at least 13 demonstrators on the first day of protests on Thursday, while police said seven people had died and denied responsibility.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu called for a pause in demonstrations in a televised address on Sunday, but protest organizers vowed to go ahead with the demonstrations despite lower turnout.
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