Nigerian President Calls for End to Protests, 'Bloodshed'

File photo: Supporters of Niger's National Council of Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP) protest outside the Niger and French airbase in Niamey on September 2, 2023 to demand the departure of the French army from Niger. (Photo by AFP)
File photo: Supporters of Niger's National Council of Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP) protest outside the Niger and French airbase in Niamey on September 2, 2023 to demand the departure of the French army from Niger. (Photo by AFP)
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Nigerian President Calls for End to Protests, 'Bloodshed'

File photo: Supporters of Niger's National Council of Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP) protest outside the Niger and French airbase in Niamey on September 2, 2023 to demand the departure of the French army from Niger. (Photo by AFP)
File photo: Supporters of Niger's National Council of Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP) protest outside the Niger and French airbase in Niamey on September 2, 2023 to demand the departure of the French army from Niger. (Photo by AFP)

Nigeria's President Bola Ahmed Tinubu called for the suspension of nationwide protests and an end to "bloodshed" on Sunday after security forces cracked down on rallies over economic hardship.
Thousands of demonstrators began taking to the streets last week to protest government policies and the high cost of living, said AFP.
Rights group Amnesty International has accused security forces of killing at least 13 protesters, while police say seven people died and deny responsibility.
In a televised address, Tinubu urged the demonstrators "to suspend any further protest and create room for dialogue," his first public comments on the rallies since they started on Thursday.
“I have heard you loud and clear. I understand the pain and the frustration that drive these protests, and I want to assure you that our government is committed to listening and addressing the concerns of our citizens," he said.
"But we must not let violence and destruction tear our nation apart," he warned. "We must stop further bloodshed, violence and destruction."
- 'Hunger and deep poverty' -
Tinubu also used the speech to defend his record and outline measures he said would benefit young Nigerians and the economy.
Africa's most populous country is battling high inflation and a tumbling naira after Tinubu ended a fuel subsidy and liberalized the currency more than a year ago in reforms the government says will improve the economy in the long term.
Dubbed #EndbadGovernanceinNigeria, the protest movement won support with an online campaign.
But officials have warned against attempts to copy recent anti-government protests in Kenya, where demonstrators forced the president to abandon new taxes.
Police in Nigeria said they had arrested nearly 700 people in the first two days of the protests, accusing them of "armed robbery, arson, mischief" and destroying property.
Amnesty has urged police to release demonstrators and refrain from firing live rounds to break up crowds.
On Friday, it said "security personnel at the locations where lives were lost deliberately used tactics designed to kill while dealing with gatherings of people protesting hunger and deep poverty."
In his address, Tinubu said "security operatives should continue to maintain peace, law, and order in our country following the necessary conventions on human rights, to which Nigeria is a signatory."
- Kano deaths -
The protests eased in many places on Saturday, but security forces again fired teargas at demonstrators in Abuja and residents told AFP that police killed three people at a rally in the northern city Kano.
The city has seen intense clashes in recent days and residents said police in the Rijiyar Lemo district fired shots and tear gas at a crowd throwing stones on Saturday afternoon.
Resident Sanusi Usman said the police used "live bullets to disperse the crowd."
"Three people were killed, including two minors and a pregnant woman who was hit as she was crossing the road," he said.
"Three people were hit and killed, two boys and a pregnant woman who was crossing the highway," resident Awwalu Ibrahim also told AFP. "One of the boys was nine years old. He was the son of my neighbor."
Police have not responded to requests for comment.



Ukraine Allows Multiple Citizenship as War Drags on

A service member of the 110th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fires a howitzer towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a front line in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine June 16, 2025. (Reuters)
A service member of the 110th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fires a howitzer towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a front line in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine June 16, 2025. (Reuters)
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Ukraine Allows Multiple Citizenship as War Drags on

A service member of the 110th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fires a howitzer towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a front line in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine June 16, 2025. (Reuters)
A service member of the 110th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fires a howitzer towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a front line in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine June 16, 2025. (Reuters)

Ukraine's parliament passed a law on Wednesday to allow Ukrainians to have multiple citizenship in an attempt to ease a demographic crisis worsened by Russia's war and to enhance ties with the country's diaspora.

The bill was passed by 243 deputies, lawmakers said.

"This decision is an important step to maintain and restore ties with millions of Ukrainians around the world," Oleksiy Chernyshov, minister for unity, said in a social media post on Facebook after the vote.

Government officials have estimated the Ukrainian diaspora at about 25 million people. Government and analysts estimate the population in the country at about 32 million people now.

Previously, Ukrainian law did not recognize dual or multiple citizenship, meaning that ethnic Ukrainians around the world holding other passports needed to renounce their other citizenship if they wanted a Ukrainian passport.

The issue of multiple citizenship has become even more pressing since Russia's invasion in February 2022.

The war is exacerbating a demographic decline that had started years before.

In 1991, when Ukraine became independent after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the population was 52 million.

But Ukraine saw several large labor migrations in the early 1990s. With the start of the invasion, millions of Ukrainians fled the fighting. Data show that more than 5 million Ukrainians live in Europe as the war is in its fourth year.

Lawmakers said that the new law would simplify procedures for children born to Ukrainian parents abroad and also for Ukrainians who obtain other citizenship by marriage.

It will also make it easier to obtain Ukrainian citizenship for foreigners fighting for Ukraine on the frontlines.

In line with the new law, the government would draw up a list of countries from which dual citizenship was allowed.

The text of the bill does not directly ban Russian citizens from obtaining Ukrainian passports. But it mentions that the government would be able to implement restrictions related to the armed aggression against Ukraine.

Foreigners would have to pass a test to prove their knowledge of the Ukrainian language, history and constitution.