President Muhammadu Buhari admits that at least 69 people have been killed in protests against police brutality that have rocked the country.
He made the comments in an emergency meeting with former Nigerian leaders aimed at finding ways to end the unrest.
The deaths were mainly civilians with a chunk of the number from the Lekki toll gate killings, but also include police officers and soldiers.
The Feminist Coalition also advised people to follow any curfews in place in their states.
At Friday’s meeting, President Buhari said his administration was committed to meeting the demands of the protesters. But he said his government would not fold its arms and allow criminals who had hijacked the protests to continue to perpetrate “hooliganism”.
The president told the meeting that 51 civilians, 11 police officers and seven soldiers had been killed in the unrest, his spokesperson said. It was not immediately clear whether these figures included the protesters allegedly killed by security forces in Lagos on Tuesday.
The president earlier made a short televised address in which he urged protesters to stop demonstrating and instead engage with the government “in finding solutions”.
He faced criticism for not mentioning the Lagos shootings.
