LAGOS, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Nigerian workers demonstrated on
Tuesday over pay issues outside the site of what will be
Africa's largest oil refinery, the owner Dangote Industries Ltd
said, at a time of heightened tensions in the country over
police brutality.
In its statement, Dangote said the protesters were not
company employees but subcontractors locked in a pay dispute
with their employers.
"The situation is under control as we are mediating with the
parties involved," said the statement, which gave no further
information.
Twitter posts showed several dozen people gathered at what
appeared to be the site of the planned refinery and said the
protesters were "fighting for their rights".
The Tweets said police had been at the scene. A national
police spokesman did not immediately reply to a request for
comment on the situation at the site.
The site is about 70 km (40 miles) east of Lagos, Nigeria's
commercial capital, which remains on edge following weeks of
protests against police brutality that culminated in what
witnesses and rights group Amnesty International said was the
shooting of peaceful protesters by military and police on
October 20. The 650,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery could transform
Nigeria, Africa's largest oil producer, from a nation reliant on
imported fuels to a fuels exporter. It is expected to begin
production within two years.