ABUJA -Nigerian police fired tear gas to disperse crowds of protesters in the capital city Abuja on Thursday, as hundreds rallied against the escalating cost of living and governance issues in Africa's most populous nation, according to eyewitness accounts.

Protesters gathered across various Nigerian cities to voice their discontent with government reforms that they claim have worsened the living cost crisis.

Authorities have deployed armed security personnel in a bid to preempt any potential violence. In Lagos, the country's commercial capital, protesters marched towards the government house under the watchful eye of armed policemen, before proceeding to the two locations designated for the protest.

  - Reuters