ABUJA, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian police fired tear gas canisters to disperse protesters who marched toward Eagle Square, located 3 km away from the Presidential Villa in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, as demonstrations broke out across the country early Thursday.

The protests by the youth were intended to peacefully call on the government to address the economic hardships amid the serious cost-of-living crisis in Africa's most populous country. However, the demonstrations turned violent in some major cities, including Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, and Gombe, prompting the police to beef up security.

In Abuja, the demonstration turned chaotic as the police dispersed the crowd marching toward Eagle Square, adjacent to the Three Arms Zone, where the Presidential Villa, National Assembly, and the Supreme Court are located.

A small skirmish between protesters and police in the northwestern state of Kaduna turned violent as demonstrators allegedly marched toward the Government House to "burn the building," Mansir Hassan, police spokesman in the state, told the media. He said a police personnel was injured during the scuffle.

A local government office in the northeastern state of Yobe was torched by violent protesters, who also razed several government vehicles during the demonstration, police said.

In a bid to avoid "undesirable outcomes" of the nationwide protests, the Nigerian government had earlier appealed for calm while calling on the youth to shelve the demonstrations and make way for continued robust dialogue to address their grievances.

Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris told the media early this week in Abuja that while the government is not opposed to peaceful protests as a "democratic right of every Nigerian," it appealed to the youth first to shelve the demonstration, "which might be hijacked by unscrupulous elements, and turn violent," citing the history of protests in the country.

Last year, the Nigerian government removed the subsidies on petrol or gasoline and also floated the local currency in the wake of ongoing economic and fiscal reforms in the country. The inflation rate in Nigeria rose to 34.19 percent in June amid the worst cost of living crisis in the West African country. Enditem

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