Clashes as security forces disperse IMN protesters in Abuja

Some members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) were forcefully dispersed by security operatives in Abuja on Tuesday.

Members of the group which has been proscribed by the Federal Government converged on the nation’s capital for a procession which was disrupted by security operatives.

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Soldiers and policemen mounted strategic locations along the ever-busy Abuja-Kaduna expressway, Maraba-Nyanya axis, looking for IMN members.

Daily Trust had reported how some women heading to the city centre from Kubwa were beaten by soldiers on the suspicion that they were among the  protesters.

The protesters had blocked a lane on the Abuja-Kaduna expressway but security operatives forced some of the IMN members off the road with teargas.

While some of the protesters later confronted security operatives, others scuttled to safety.

The clash between IMN members and security operatives paralysed human and vehicular movements on Abuja-Kaduna expressway as motorists were stranded for hours.

At Gwarinmpa, a crowd of onlookers was forcefully dispersed with warning shots.

A combined team of soldiers and policemen then went after some persons they apparently suspected of being members of the group.

The men, who ran as fast as possible were caught in the front of a commercial bank in Gwarinmpa.

Armed with knives, cudgels and other weapons, the officers took turns to beat the victims.

The scene was deserted but traders and residents watched from afar.

Some persons who captured the incident from hidden locations circulated videos on social media.

The videos have generated an outrage as many social media users condemned the action of the security operatives.

There are reports that some of the protesters were killed but Daily Trust could not independently verify this as of the time this report was filed.

DSP Josephine Adeh, Public Relations Officer of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command, could not be reached for comments as of the time of filing this report.

On July 28, 2021, a Kaduna High Court discharged and acquitted Sheik Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, IMN Leader, who spent seven years in detention.

He was arrested after some of his followers clashed with soldiers in Zaria, Kaduna State, in 2015.

The Kaduna State government had charged him with culpable homicide.