Fred Itua, Abuja

A yet-to-be-identified policeman who was shot earlier today by a member of the Shiite Movement at a protest in the National Assembly is dead.

The policeman was caught in a violent melee at the National  Assembly complex, where members of the religious sect were protesting the continued detention of their leader, Ibrahim Yaqoub El Zakzaky.

He died a few hours after he was moved out of the National Assembly clinic where he had been admitted for gun shot injuries.

A second policeman who also sustained gunshot injuries is said to be receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital in Abuja, the Nigerian capital.

Related: Pandemonium in National Assembly, El-Zakzaky supporter shoots policeman