The victim revealed that the officers asked him to prostrate on the floor before one of them pulled out a knife while another used a broken bottle to cut off his dreadlocks and shave his hair.

The young man said that the security agents harassed him for wearing “brown hair’ since he was not a woman.

Another protester with bruises on his back, Damilare Adenola, said he was dehumanised and battered by the security operatives for taking part in the protest to demand better governance from the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

He said he was flogged with iron and chain and kicked to the ground for no reason.

He said, “I was beaten by more than four soldiers and policemen. They slapped me several times and kicked me with boots. They also collected my phone and did not return it to me.

“It is unfortunate that this government does not accommodate civic space. There is no freedom of speech in Nigeria again.”