Pro-democracy activists and other government opponents calling for an end to military rule had planned to take to the streets in protest. They were confronted by a wall of police and soldiers here.

Faced with his first major test -- the prospect of a defiant opposition -- General Abdulsalam Abubakar responded with enough force to quell any hopes of a meaningful anti-government demonstration.

Friday's protests were planned months ago to mark the five-year anniversary of the annulment of Nigeria's last Presidential elections on June 12, 1993, and to call for the freedom for Moshood Abiola, the imprisoned billionaire businessmen believed to have won the vote.

But the demonstrations took on an added significance, coming only days after Abubakar was appointed leader of this oil-rich butimpoverished West African country. Gen Sani Abacha, notorious for his brutal and oppressive rule, died on Monday of a heart attack.

However, Abubakar spared no efforts to quell the protests. Gani Fawehinmi, a lawyer and leading dissident who organised the demonstration, was arrested by the police, his aides said on Friday. Fawehinmi, arriving at the scene of one of protests, was lifted onto the shoulders of three men, witnesses said. Police were enraged when the crowd began to cheer Fawehinmi, and they arrested him along with the men carrying him.

Fawehinmi has been detained before and released, but his arrest on Friday was sure to deal another blow to an opposition already weakened by the imprisonment or exile of most of its main leaders.

``Soldiers are all the same,'' said Joseph Ahmed, a Lagos resident watching police haul away a few protesters from the scene of one confrontation. ``If anyone wants to criticise them, they go and use force.''

In the Yaba district on the city's north side, severalvehicles filled with riot police roared into position on Friday to block 300 protesters from marching toward the area's main bus terminal. Police fired bullets and tear gas, sending demonstrators scurrying for cover.

Another group of 500 to 600 activists were dispersed with tear gas, witnesses said.

During Abacha's years in power, corruption tore away at Nigeria's economy and its infrastructure, leaving both in shambles. Despite the country's vast oil reserves, motorists line up and wait for hours at the few gas stations that haven't run dry.

Abubakar already has infuriated the opposition by offering only a vague pledge to move forward with democratic reforms and a transition to civilian rule by October 1.