A group of 200 or so faithful gathered following afternoon prayers at the Abuja National Mosque, chanting anti-Israel and anti-US slogans and voicing solidarity with Palestinians.

The protest coincided with Quds Day, an annual international event to show support for Palestinians and opposition to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

"Shame to America, shame to Israel," protesters chanted, as the two nations continued to pummel Iran with bombardments that started two weeks ago.

The Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), which led the protest, is a pro-Iran group of Shias, who are themselves a minority among Nigeria's Muslims.

The crowd, which appeared to catch security forces off-guard by gathering inside the mosque grounds, dispersed after about 15 minutes, according to an AFP reporter at the scene.

The IMN has been outlawed by Nigerian authorities for advocating an Islamic revolution in the west African nation.

However, at the time of its banning in 2019, researchers characterised it as more interested in protest than political violence.

"To those people who killed him, I'm sure they'll regret it" demonstrator Abdullahi Musa told AFP in reference to Iran's late supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

The INM member said the United States should withdraw its military assets from the Middle East.

The IMN led marches through the streets of major cities in Nigeria's Muslim-majority north on March 1, immediately following the start of the US-Israeli bombing campaign that killed Khamenei and sparked a major regional war.

Last week the US embassy closed "due to the potential" of unspecified "protests".

The IMN had been attempting to stage demonstrations in Abuja that were deterred by security forces.

On Friday morning, traffic was at a standstill on roads leading into Abuja as checkpoints and a heavier than usual security presence slowed down vehicles.

The Nigerian government has at times cracked down harshly on the IMN, including in clashes at a protest last year that left 11 protesters and one soldier dead, according to an intelligence report seen by AFP at the time.

Authorities, protesters and rights groups disputed what sparked the violence.