A group of protesters led by Omoyele Sowore on Monday stormed the streets of Abuja, bearing placards with different inscriptions.

Amid heavy security presence, the protesters were heard chanting, “Take it back. Action.”

Some of the placards read, “I am a TikToker. I am not a bandit”, “Silence no go solve Nigeria’s problem. We must fight bad rulers. #Unmute me”, and “Censorship kills creativity. Let us breathe”.

The police had earlier ordered the protesters to shelve the protests, which they had planned for April 7, a day set aside to honour the contributions of the police to national security, noting that it was ill-conceived.

The spokesperson of the Nigeria Police Force, Muyiwa Adejobi, noted in a statement that it was a “deliberate attempt to malign the image of the Nigeria Police.”