We didn’t burn Police station in Zaria – Shi’ite

A front line member of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) known as Shi’ite,  Mallam Abdulhamidi Bello,  has denied claims by the Police that members of the movement burnt down Kasuwa Mata Police station in Sabon Gari Local Government Area of Kaduna state, during an encounter between members of the sect and Police in Zaria last Friday.

He made the denial in a statement made available a Journalists in Zaria on Monday.

Our correspondent reports that the crisis brewed between the two parties last Friday when members of the movement held procession to commemorate what they called Qudus day to show support for the beleaguered people of Palestine that were being persecuted by Israel.

The statement reads in part: “This year’s Procession in was attacked under the pretext that the procession set the Sabon Police station and a vehicle on fire, it is on record that for over 40 years of marking the annual Qudus day in Nigeria under the leadership of Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky  it has always been peacefully conducted unless when attacked by the Security forces, it is therefore unfortunate how after attacking innocent citizens exercising their fundamental right to peacefully protest, the Police can go and accuse the protesters of a crime committed by some hoodlums commissioned to cause chaos so as to find fault and justify their heinous crimes.

“It may be recalled that about twenty month ago in Kaduna during the commemoration of Ashura the Police were caught on camera setting their vehicle on fire. That is typical of the Nigerian Police to justify their atrocities against innocent people, why don’t Nigerian Securities divert their energy and resources in fighting bandits and other criminal that have ransacked the peace of the nation.

“We want categorically state we have no hand in any of burning of the vehicle and false alarm of burning the Sabon Gari Police station. We therefore call for immediate release of all in Police captivity similarly we want to use this opportunity to call on the Nigerian Government to as matter of urgency release traveling documents of Sheikh Zakzaky and his wife, Mallam Zeena to enable them attend to ailing health conditions.”

Mallam Bello further accused the Police of firing live bullets on the innocent citizens as a result of which 8 of his members sustained various degree of injuries while about 70 were in Police custody.