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At least 2,000 policemen stationed in Boko Haram, northeastern Nigeria, on Monday demanded wage arrears in a show of anger marked by tear gas and shots fired into the air
. They blocked the main road outside the police headquarters in the capital of Borno State, Maiduguri, chanting slogans, including slogans. "Pay us our compensation or there will be no peace."
An AFP journalist at the scene said the protesters dropped tear gas and shot in the air
. The protesters intervened to stop them, which led to clashes, he added.
A protester told AFP that he had only received 23,000 naira ($ 64), or 5,000 naira more than the national minimum. e.
A "large portion" had been deduced without explanation, he added. Officers were unable to give money to their families for food and school fees, he said.
"How do they expect us to maintain security when we are hungry and frustrated, when we have not seen our families for months? We fulfill our basic responsibilities as husbands and fathers? ""
"Our patience has been exhausted, all we say is that they should give us our money.
Another said that they had not been paid for six months while the food had been stopped. forced to sleep in the open air as there was no accommodation.
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Non-payment of wages is not unusual in Nigeria, especially in recent years, as the country slid into recession after the collapse of world oil prices from mid-1990s. 2014.
In 2015, public sector workers in 30 of Nigeria's 36 states owed their wages.
In recent months, university staff, oil and gas workers and hospital doctors have been on strike for wage arrears dating back to 2009.
Under former President Goodluck Jonathan the soldiers complained of non-payment of wages. as well as the lack of adequate weapons and even ammunition.
In one case, the troops refused a deployment order for an offensive against the jihadists.
President Muhammadu Buhari was elected in 2015 on the promise to defeat Islamists and fight endemic corruption.
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