Nigerian police fire tear gas to break up protests over rising insecurity

Lagos/Abuja: Police fired tear gas and detained several demonstrators in the Nigerian cities of Lagos and Abuja on Saturday during protests over the country's worsening security situation, Reuters witnesses said.

Anger over mass kidnappings-for-ransom, a decade-long Islamist insurgency and a crackdown on protesters in Lagos last October has fueled demands for the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to do more to tackle violence and insecurity. There was a heavy police presence in the country's two major cities as several hundred people gathered to protest on Democracy Day, which marks Nigeria's move to civilian rule more than 20 years ago.