Like the indefinite stoppages which began on Monday, all strikes have been staged to protest against attempts to increase the price of fuel in Africa's number-one crude oil producer.
- January 16-17, 2002: An indefinite general strike shuts down whole cities and halts industry in a bid to force the government to reverse a 15 percent increase in fuel prices. Several union officials are arrested.
- June 30-July 7, 2003: A eight-day general strike in protest at increases in oil prices paralyses the country. On the last day of the strike, rioters mingle with strikers, put up barricades, torch vehicles and clash with armed police deployed in Lagos. At least four demonstrators are killed by the police.
- June 11, 2004: Triumphant labour leaders call off a three-day general strike after paralysing Nigeria and dealing a blow to president Olusegun Obasanjo's reform agenda by forcing filling stations to slash petrol prices.
- October 11-14: A general strike called to protest an increase in fuel prices paralyses the country's cities.
- June 20-24, 2007: A general strike to protest the refusal of the government to reverse a 15-percent hike in petrol prices at the pump paralyses the country. The strike hits schools, government offices, banks, filling stations, domestic air transport and Lagos port.
The two main unions end the strike following a promise from President Umaru Yar'Adua to keep petrol prices stable for a year. Other measures are also announced, including the cancellation of plans to double value added tax and a 15 percent increase in civil servants' salaries backdated to January 1.
- January 9, 2012: Tens of thousands protest nationwide over fuel price hikes, as a nationwide strike virtually shuts down the country. One demonstrator is killed by police in Lagos and two are shot dead in Kano in the country's north, where another 28 are injured during clashes between police and demonstrators.
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