NIGERIA – Protests erupted in multiple cities across Nigeria Thursday as frustrated citizens took to the streets, voicing their anger over increasing hunger and “bad governance.”

The demonstrations are part of a larger wave of unrest spreading across Africa in places such as Kenya, Uganda, Ghana and now Nigeria. The demonstrations spiraled out of control in parts of the country, including the northern Yobe and Kano states where authorities declared a 24-hour curfew as private and public properties were looted in chaotic scenes that also saw many vehicles burned.

In Kano, protesters stormed and looted a Digital Innovation Park scheduled to open next week, Communications Minister Bosun Tijani said. Gunshots rang out in the capital Abuja and also in the neighboring Niger state as police lobbed tear gas to disperse defiant protesters. In Niger, at least six people are now feared dead, local media reported.

The state’s police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun told CNN in a statement that operatives arrested 11 armed “hoodlums” who set fire to a government building after looting it. Abiodun said police officers also dispersed protesters who had occupied a major highway, adding that “there was no loss of life.”

Another three people were reportedly killed in the northwestern Kaduna state, according to Reuters, citing eyewitnesses. The Kaduna Police Command did not return CNN’s request for comment. In Abuja, protesters gathered outside the national stadium, where they faced off with pro-government supporters.

Activist and lawyer Deji Adeyanju told CNN Thursday that there were counter-demonstrations by pro-government protesters who arrived in buses accompanied by a security vehicle. Josephine Adeh, a police spokesperson in the city, denied this. “The protesters became violent and began throwing stones at the police, reasons why the police had to disperse them,” she said. (CNN)…[+]