Amid accusations and counter-accusations, the proscribed Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), popularly called Shiites, claimed the Police killed four of their members and secretly took their corpses away during last Sunday’s clash around the Wuse Market in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
This is coming on the heels of a statement by FCT Police Command’s spokeswoman, SP Josephine Adeh, that the IMN members attacked its personnel police leaving two of them dead and three others critically injured in the clash.
Aside from the two policemen, one trader was also reported killed during the Shi’ites’ procession to mourn the assassination of Sayyed Hussain, a grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Denying the Police’s accusations on Wednesday, IMN’s Secretary of Academic Forum, Ibrahim Abdullahi Musa, said rather it was the security operatives that killed three of their members at the Wuse Market axis, with the fourth one killed in the Mabushi area.
According to Musa; “The police were well aware of 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.
While distancing their members from the death and destruction of Police vehicles, Musa said the Force was trying very hard in its attempt to blame the deaths of their officers on the Shi’ite group to give them a bad name.
“He said the information was necessary 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.”
Offering further insights on their claims, the IMN’s Scribe said about 14 other members sustained gun injuries and were being treated by the group at an undisclosed location.
He stated that this is in addition to those members arrested by the Police with various degrees of injury.
Musa said the Police repeated the same action taken in 2019 when they killed and took away six corpses of their members, claiming that these corpses were only released about three months ago following a court order.
Meanwhile, an official response was still being awaited from the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, as of the time of going to press.
However, a statement by the Force spokesman, Muyiwa Adejobi, has confirmed the arrest of 97 Shi’ite members over violence.
The Commissioner of Police in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Ben Igweh, has also been quoted as promising that the Force will hunt down and prosecute the members of the Shi’ite movement who, according to him, attacked and killed police officers unprovoked on Sunday.
Igweh said this in an interview with ARISE NEWS on
