•Chaos as Shiites protest in Abuja
Members of the proscribed Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), better known as Shiites, have accused the police of killing four of their members and taking their corpses away during last Sunday’s clash around the Wuse Market in Abuja.
Two policemen and one trader were killed in the clash as the Shiites were processing to mourn the assassination of Sayyed Hussain, a grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), reports Daily Trust.
Three other policemen were injured in the clash as disclosed by the FCT Police Command’s spokeswoman, SP Josephine Adeh, who accused the IMN members of attacking the police in the process.
But reacting yesterday, IMN’s Secretary of Academic Forum, Ibrahim Abdullahi Musa, who denied the allegation of killing the police, said that three of their members were killed at the Wuse Market area, while the fourth person was killed in the Mabushi axis.
He said, “The police were well aware about the procession, as the police commissioner of the FCT command contacted one of our lawyers who informed him about the locations where the procession would start and wound up. He said the information was necessary in order to give us a security cover, but what happened was contrary, as they opened fire towards the protesters (sic) who were not holding anything apart from placards.”
He further said that about 14 other members sustained gun injuries and were being treated by the group at a location, in addition to those arrested by the police with various degrees of injury.
He noted that the police did the same thing in 2019; took six corpses of their members, who according to him, were released about three months ago following a court order.
The FCT police spokeswoman, SP Josephine Adeh, could not be reached for comment yesterday.
