Nigeria troops appear; president offers concession
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) -- For the first time since protests erupted over spiraling fuel prices, soldiers barricaded key roads Monday in Nigeria's two biggest cities as the president offered a concession to stem demonstrations that he said were being stoked by provocateurs seeking anarchy.
Soldiers in Lagos fired apparent live rounds over the heads of several hundred protesters who were walking to a park where demonstrations were held last week - and where armored personnel carriers and troops awaited on Monday.
The deployment of troops is a sensitive issue in a nation with a young democracy and a history of military coups. President Goodluck Jonathan said in his speech that was televised early Monday that agitators have hijacked the demonstrations, which were initially focused on his removal of a fuel subsidy but more recently focused on government corruption and inefficiency.
At a park in Lagos' Ojota neighborhood where more than 20,000 people had demonstrated Friday, two military armored personnel carriers were parked near an empty stage. About 50 soldiers and 50 other security personnel surrounded the area carrying Kalashnikov rifles, waving away those who tried to enter to resume demonstrations. A crowd of several hundred people gathered a few hundreds yards (meters) away.
Associated Press Jan 16, 6:15 AM EST http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AF_NIGERIA_FUEL_SUBSIDY?SITE=OHALL2&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
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