From Femi Mustapha, in Kaduna
Members of Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky-led Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), otherwise known as Shi’ites, have insisted that Police killed seven of their members on Quds Day annual procession, penultimate Friday in Kaduna and Zaria.
Shiites said five of their members were killed in Kaduna and two in Zaria, adding that 22 of their others were arrested and 40 others injured by the Police on the fateful day.
Meanwhile, the Kaduna State Police Command denied killing any of the Shi’ite protesters, saying that its operatives never fired any live bullets.
It would be recalled that the Command’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Mansir Hasan, denied the allegations of killing any of the IMN members but instead said three of their officers sustained injuries following an attack from the Shi’ite members, adding that the injured officers have been taken to the hospital for treatment.
The PPRO said, “We got the information that the members of the proscribed IMN were going to hold a massive protest in the state and the command deployed its men to most of the strategic places to stop them from blocking the road, especially Ahmadu Bello Way Kaduna.
“On sighting our men deployed there, the IMN members started throwing stones, firing catapults, and locally made guns against our men which led to three of our men sustaining injuries and now receiving treatment at a police clinic.
“If they claimed four of their members were killed, where are the bodies and which hospital were they taken to? How can we identify them, our men didn’t use live ammunition but only used teargas to disperse them”.
However, addressing a press conference on Tuesday, the Chairman, of Resource Forum Islamic Movement, Prof. Abdullahi Danladi said police should use their force to rid the country of Kidnappers instead of using such force on innocent citizens.
Prof. Danladi said International Quds Day is an annual day of solidarity with Palestinians and the oppressed people of the world, adding that it is normally held on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan as instructed by late Ayyatullah Ruhullah Khomeini (QS).
“The well-organized peaceful demonstration staged by unarmed men, women, children and even the physically challenged, to commiserate with the Palestinians and condemn the genocide being perpetrated by Israel in Gaza, the police with full combat-ready force came in tens of vehicles carrying heavy arms and clamped down on the peaceful demonstrators.
“As a result of the crime committed by supposed to be law enforcement agents, 7 innocent persons were killed (5 in Kaduna and 2 in Zaria), including minors, and over 40 persons injured, with some in very critical conditions.
“Those killed include Mahamud Umar, Ibrahim Rabiu, Haidar Ishaq, Mustapha Buruku, Ahmad Mustafa, Mustapha Adam, and Ammar Abdullahi Jahadee.
“The story is not different from Zaria, where the Quds day procession was carried out in two phases. The first was carried out in the morning hours of Friday 5th April 2024 in Zaria city, witnessed the presence of a combination of the Nigerian Army and the Police who were battle-ready for war.
“However, Allah restrained their arms from shedding the blood of the innocents. The second phase of the procession that took place after Friday prayers in Sabon Gari of Zaria was violently attacked leaving two people martyred with several others with life-threatening degrees of injuries.
“The crime against humanity that has been going on the Palestinians since 1948 has been tormenting people with conscience. However, the events of the last six months, coupled with the assistance of social media have further exposed the evil crimes of the Zionists against the oppressed people of Palestine. We are all leaving witnesses! All it takes to identify with the people of Palestine is for one to be human.
“It is unfortunate how the Kaduna security agencies decided to bargain their humanity to identify with the criminals by descending on armless peaceful protesters. To the dismay of the general public and those that saw the video clips of the “gallant” action the security agents, the Kaduna Police Command, through its spokesperson, addressed the press and gave a contrary statement claiming that they never fired any shot and went ahead to claim that they have arrested some of the protesters with deadly weapons.
“The way and manner in which such processions and all our activities are carried out are glaringly known to the public. So, this lie does not fly. It is deeply disturbing that instead of upholding the rights of citizens to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, the Nigerian Police chose to respond with disproportionate and deadly force.
“Such actions not only violate fundamental human rights of the citizens but also undermine the principles of democracy and justice. We wish the security agents would use such force on the kidnappers and bandits having a field day in the country and comb them out of the bushes to allow the citizens to have some peace and security.
“We demand that the perpetrators of these crimes should be fished out and punished accordingly. We also wish to state that we are Muslims and citizens of Nigeria and have the right to conduct our religious duties as ordained by Allah.
“We also wish to commend people, organizations and associations that have voiced out their minds against the atrocities meted out to innocent and armless people exercising their religious rights”. Prof. Danladi said.
