Nigeria in crisis as fuel protests grow

A MOB torched an Islamic school in southern Nigeria as the second day of a national strike over fuel prices locked down the country, fanned religious tensions and unnerved the global oil market.

The two-day-old general strike has not yet affected the output of Africa’s top oil producer but it has paralysed the country and sent the government, already battling a brutal campaign by an Islamist group, into crisis mode.

The strike started on Monday by labour unions upset over high fuel prices in Africa’s most populous nation. Gas prices have risen from $1.70 (€1.33) per gallon to $3.50 per gallon since the subsidy on fuel ended on January 1 after orders from President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.