By CONTRARY to police report as regards the killing of two officers, members of Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), also known as Shi’ites, say in the process of killing their members, rampaging police also shot their colleagues.
Stonix News reported that the FCT Police Command said two of its officers were killed and three critical wounded and unconscious after their clash with Shi’ites on Sunday, August 25th, in Abuja.
ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi
This Shi’ites, in a statement by Sheikh Sidi Munir Mainasara on behalf of the Islamic movement, alleged that the Nigerian Police attacked the hotel where its members had lodged after the Arba’een procession.
According to him, the police operatives shot sporadically at them, burnt vehicles belonging to them, and arrested scores of their members.
The IMN, it will be recalled, had earlier notified the public in a statement on its annual Arba’een Trek.
Stonix News reports that it’s become customary that each year, security forces and the religious group always clash, albeit bloodily.
This year’s procession wasn’t an exception and perhaps bloodier, as two police officers were reportedly killed and several members of the IMN were shot dead, many sustained injuries while scores were arrested.
The Arba’een Trek is an annual religious ritual to mark the 40th day of the remembrance of the martyrdom of the grandson of the Prophet Muhammed, who was killed in the plains of Karbala, alongside his family and companions.
In the statement, Shi’ites alleged that the Arbaeen procession had commenced peacefully on Sunday until the armed policemen appeared and opened fire on them.
They debunked the statement signed by SP Josephine Adeh, the PRO FCT Police Command, alleging that Arba’een mourners killed two police officers on duty and rendered three others unconscious when they attacked the annual Arba’een Trek in Abuja.
“They gravely wounded hundreds, arrested so many others, and killed scores of our brothers and sisters.
“In the process, they also killed their colleagues, who were apparently hit by their stray bullets as they were shooting indiscriminately.
“As if these were not enough, a team of combined security forces later in the evening trooped to a guest house in Suleja, where our brothers and sisters used to reside, and opened fire unprovoked.
“The attack happened around 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 25, 2024, at a guest house located behind Kwata in Suleja town, Niger State.
“At the time of compiling this report, an eyewitness confirmed that the police had set fire to a car parked at the entrance of the house, vandalised many valuable facilities, and also attempted to burn down the house, but their efforts were thwarted.
“The report also confirmed that the police fired indiscriminately at the people present at the scene and arrested dozens of people present at the scene,” the statement said.
Sheikh Mainasara recalled that in July 2019, a similar incident occurred where the police forces attacked a #FreeZakzaky procession and killed their colleague in the process, but later blamed the Islamic movement for it.
“But an autopsy report later revealed that he was indeed killed by a stray bullet, and they were ordered by a court of law to pay ransom to his family,” he noted.
“We wish to draw the attention of the general public to the fact that the activists of the Islamic movement are unarmed and defenceless. We do not carry any form of weaponry.
“Therefore, we reject and condemn the statement from the PRO FCT Police Command in its entirety. It’s a statement aimed at scapegoating the movement as well as seeking cheap public sympathy that will allow them to carry out even further atrocities against defenceless civilians.
“The same security agents who should supposedly protect the lives of citizens of the country are the ones who, in broad daylight, murder them in cold blood.
“At the same time, they fail to maintain order and provide security in various parts of the country ravaged by political and civil unrest, as well as such acts of insecurity as banditry and kidnapping.
“Their show of power is always on innocent and defenceless civilians, while they let terrorists and criminals roam freely.
“We wish to maintain that attacking our gathering is illegal and unconstitutional. It is an infringement on our fundamental rights to liberty and freedom of expression as citizens of Nigeria.
“We fear that our brothers and sisters arrested will be tortured, and those who sustain various degrees of injuries will be denied access to the urgent, proper medical attention they require.
“We condemn this act of violence meted out against our brothers and sisters. We call upon relevant authorities to call these security forces to order and ensure that the perpetrators of this heinous crime are brought to justice,” the statement added.
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