Five members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), popularly known as Shiite, were allegedly killed in Abuja on Tuesday during a clash with security operatives who dispersed the group’s procession along the Abuja-Kubwa expressway.
Several others were said to be injured in the clash.
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The group’s procession was said to be in commemoration of its annual symbolic Arba’una, (the assassination of Hussain, a grandson of Prophet Muhammad (SAW).
Daily Trust reports that the protesters, who are followers of Sheikh Ibrahim Elzakzaky, had earlier staged similar processions across various towns in the northern part of the country on Monday.
The leader of the group’s Mityr Foundation, Abdullahi Bello, who confirmed the deaths to one of our reporters, alleged that those injured were whisked away by security men.
“They picked them from the scene of the incident, but our delegation located them at the police clinic in Area 1 and evacuated them to other hospitals for better treatment,’’ Bello added.
He said the procession was a grand rally to round off the commemoration and that it happened at a time when prayers had been said to close the event around 11 am on Tuesday.
However, the spokesperson of the FCT Police Command, Josephine Adeh, alleged that the group came to Abuja to cause unrest.
“We got a security report before now that they mobilised people from about six states into FCT with the intention of making the city ungovernable.
“They engaged our men with dangerous weapons. They were throwing explosives and stones at our men. What we simply did was disperse them with tear gas,’’ she said.
She said no death was recorded, but some of the protesters sustained injuries.
She also confirmed the arrest of 42 members of the group, who according to her, were obstructing traffic and throwing stones and explosives at police operatives.
It would be recalled that in 2018, a similar procession was dispersed in Abuja with some IMN members allegedly shot by soldiers.
By Hussein Yahaya, Adam Umar & Dalhatu Liman
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