Gladness Gideon
The Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), also known as the Shiite group, has refuted claims by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command that its members were responsible for the killing of a security operative and the injury of two others during a violent clash on Friday.
The incident occurred during the group’s annual Quds Day procession in Abuja, which turned chaotic when security forces intervened. While the police accused the IMN of instigating violence using firearms, cutlasses, petrol bombs, and other weapons, the group countered the allegations, asserting that security forces carried out an unprovoked attack on its members.
FCT Police Command spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, in a statement on Friday, reported that the confrontation led to “intense gunfire,” resulting in the death of one security officer and severe injuries to two others. She confirmed that 19 IMN members had been arrested, with investigations ongoing.
However, addressing journalists on Saturday, the leader of the IMN’s Resource Forum, Prof. Abdullahi Danladi, contradicted the police’s account. He claimed that six of their members had been killed, and 380, including women and children, were arrested—far exceeding the 109 detainees stated by the police.
Danladi further alleged that security forces were withholding bodies of deceased members and detaining those arrested at the SARS Abbator facility in Guzape, Abuja. He named some of the deceased as Shaheed Ibraheem Dalhat (Sharif Albani), Shaheed Nasir Abubakar, Shaheed Abdulaziz Abubakar, and Shaheed Auwal Abbas Bichi.
“The police might have said they arrested 19 of our members, but reliable information confirmed that the Guard Brigade and the police arrested 380 protesters. The number of casualties and corpses with the security forces remains unknown,” he said.
IMN Rejects Police Allegations, Demands Justice
Rejecting accusations that IMN members were armed, Danladi described the police’s statement as an attempt to justify their actions.
“We have carried out our activities for over 40 years peacefully. It is only when security operatives attack us that casualties occur. We do not kill or injure security personnel; rather, we fight for their rights and those of other Nigerians,” he said.
He called for the immediate and unconditional release of all detained members and demanded justice for those killed.
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Addressing the ban on the IMN’s activities, Danladi insisted that the proscription remains a subject of legal contention. He argued that even if the group were officially banned, it would not justify alleged extrajudicial killings.
“Let’s assume an organization is banned—does that give anyone the license to shoot its members dead?” he questioned.
The IMN has long been at odds with Nigerian authorities, particularly following the 2015 military crackdown on its members in Zaria, Kaduna State, which led to the arrest and prolonged detention of its leader, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky.
As tensions continue, the group has vowed to keep the public updated on further developments regarding the Abuja procession. Meanwhile, security agencies maintain that those responsible for the violent clash will face justice.