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STORY: This footage from northern Nigeria shows Russian flags being waved during anti-government protests on Monday (August 5).

And it's the reason some tailors who made such flags have been detained, the state secret police have said.

The Department of State Services wrote in a post on social media that it had also detained some of the tailors' "sponsors", without elaborating.

:: Niamey, Niger

:: August 3, 2023

The Russian embassy in Nigeria denied any involvement.

However, the detentions underscore concerns about increased Russian activity in West Africa.

Russian flags have been waved by residents of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger amid military coups in those countries.

In Nigeria, hundreds of thousands have been protesting since August 1 over economic hardships and crime.

And in the northern states of Borno, Kaduna and Katsina, protesters have been seen waving hundreds of Russians flags with some calling for a military takeover.

Nigeria's Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, described the flying of foreign flags during anti-government protests as "totally unacceptable".

"We will not accept any individual flying any foreign flag in Nigeria. That is a treasonable offense and it will be viewed and treated as such."

Security experts said many protesters believe Nigeria's cost of living crisis is the result of reforms dictated to President Bola Tinubu by Western institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

The protests have now largely faded after a deadly police crackdown.