…Operatives handled them without force – PPRO
Leaders of the Sheikh Ibrahim el-Zakzaky-led Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), also known as Shi’ites, have claimed that five of their members were killed and nine others injured when they clashed with Governor Nasir el-Rufai’s convoy on Thursday.
An IMN leader, Sheikh Aliyu Umar, told journalists in Rigasa, Igabi local government area, on Friday that IMN would sue the state government over the killing of its members.
He said the incident happened when members of the IMN were on a peaceful protest to press home their demand for the release of Sheikh Zakzaky’s international passport to allow him to go abroad for medical care.
Umar said, “On Thursday, we came out for our usual protest, because our leader (Sheikh Zakzaky) has since been released, but they refused to give him his passport to allow him to travel abroad for medical checkup. We used to come out to remind the world that our leader is still denied his rights.
“We did not block the road; everyone knows that, we are very organized and we have our people that clear the road. So, we could not have blocked the convoy. Now, after we bury our dead, we are going to pray, and then we will take legal action against the state government.”
Meanwhile, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Muhammad Jalige, said in a phone conversation that, “IMN has been proscribed, they have no right whatsoever to carry out any form of protest. So, even you, the press, should not have attended their press conference, because they have been proscribed.”
He later said in a press release he signed that, “Security operatives attached to the convoy of the Kaduna state governor have cleared the Bakin Ruwa axis of Rigasa, Nnamdi Azikiwe Expressway after armed hoodlums suspected to be members of the proscribed Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) who attacked law- abiding citizens and had prevented motorists from plying the route.
“The hoodlums in a large number were intercepted harassing innocent citizens on Thursday, March 16, 2023, at about 15:35hours when the convoy of the Governor of Kaduna state arrived at the scene. The hoodlums on sighting the convoy began firing weapons and stones hitting several private vehicles along with a few in the convoy.
“The security operatives professionally contained the miscreants without the use of force. Some of the hoodlums strongly suspected to be members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) were arrested and investigation is in progress.”
