Trouble started when some protesters arrived at the venue with #FreeSowore #FreeBakare placards.
Armed policemen drafted to the main gate of the National Assembly in Abuja have clashed with the journalists covering the #SayNoToSocialMediaBill protest and seized their cameras.
Trouble started when some protesters arrived at the venue with #FreeSowore #FreeBakare placards.
The police on sighting the group, prevented them from advancing further and joining the other group led by Deji Adeyanju.
The police in the process swooped on the cameraman of ROOT TV, who was filming the harassment and altercation.
The police descended on the journalist and confiscated his camera.
The situation brought the protest to a halt as journalists demanded the release of the camera from the police.
The journalists thereafter mobilised and threatened a showdown with the police over the continued harassment of their members during a civil protest.
It was at this point the police released the camera to the journalist before the protest proceeded.
The police were drafted to the complex to forestall any possible breakdown of law and order during the protest.
The protesters are demanding the rejection of Hate Speech bill and anti-social media bill currently before the National Assembly.
The protesters noted that the bills were an affront on the right to freedom of speech .