Nigeria: Police fire gunshots in clash with Shi’ites’ protesters
Police in Nigeria on Friday had to fire teargas and gunshots to disperse Islamic Movement in Nigeria members who were protesting in Abuja.
The clash with the protesters ended the procession abruptly.
The Shi’ites according to local media also plan staging a nationwide procession on Saturday as part of their annual ritual event called the Arbaeen trek.
Arbaeen is a Shiite annual religious practice usually conducted on 20th Safar of Islamic calendar to mark the 40th day of the murder of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad.
This year the Shi’ites in Nigeria have clashed on several occasions with the police resulting in deaths and injuries to protesters and security forces.
In July this year Nigeria declared the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) also referred to as “Shiites” a terrorist organisation.
A court in Nigeria gave the government the approval to label the group as a terrorist organization after series of deadly protest by its members.
The court in it’s ruling restrained people from engaging in any form of activities related to the IMN under any name or platform in Nigeria.
Most of their confrontation with the police have been over the detention of their leader Ibrahim Zakzaky who has been in detention since 2015.
His supporters have been protesting demanding his release.
Source: Africafeeds.com
