Police fired teargas and gunshots on Saturday in Abuja, forcing protesters demanding the scrapping of Special anti-robbery squad, SARS, to disperse.

Police physically assaulted protesters who refused to leave the exterior of the police headquarters where they had camped most of Saturday.

Protests have taken place in several cities in and outside of Nigeria.

Demonstrators want the unit accused of incessant harassment, extortion and killing of Nigerian youth to be scraped.

An offer by the police to reform the unit has been rejected.

Protesters outside the police headquarters in Abuja had vowed not to back down and planned to sleep overnight at there.

Soon after, the police teargassed the protesters and fired gunshots sporadically while protesters ran for safety and officers tackled protesters who refused to leave the scene.

Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari while reacting to the heavy #EndSARS protests across the country directed the Inspector General of Police, IGP, Mohammed Adamu, to address the concerns of Nigerians and ensure that personnel of the force remain fully accountable to the people.