Many killed in Nigerian protests for release of Shia leader

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Security was high in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, Tuesday, a day after several people were killed in clashes between police and the country's main Shia group.

A police officer and a reporter for the Channels television network were among those killed in the clashes in the capital, Abuja, on Monday, police said.

At least 11 members of the Shia group were killed by police gunfire, said Ibrahim Musa, spokesman for the Islamic Movement of Nigeria.

Police spokesman Frank Mba blamed the Shias for the deaths. He said "heavily armed protesters defying all sense of decency violently attacked innocent citizens and police personnel on duty." He said an additional two police officers were injured.

This is the most recent violence in a series of protests in which the Shias are urging the government to release their leader, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky, who has been in jail without trial since 2015 and is reported to be in failing health.

Last week the Shia group said four of its members were shot dead during protests in Abuja and the northern city of Kaduna.

Zakzaky, his wife and many Shias were arrested following a military raid on the group's headquarters in the northern city of Zaria.

More than 300 Shias were killed during the military operation, according to officials, but the Shias claim that more than 1,000 were killed.

Nigeria's Shias say they are being persecuted by the country's larger Muslim group, the Sunnis. </s> LAGOS, Nigeria - Security was high in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, Tuesday, a day after several people were killed in clashes between police and the country’s main Shia group.

A police officer and a reporter for the Channels television network were among those killed in the clashes in the capital, Abuja, on Monday, police said.

At least 11 members of the Shia group were killed by police gunfire, said Ibrahim Musa, spokesman for the Islamic Movement of Nigeria.

Police spokesman Frank Mba blamed the Shias for the deaths. He said “heavily armed protesters defying all sense of decency violently attacked innocent citizens and police personnel on duty.” He said an additional two police officers were injured.

This is the most recent violence in a series of protests in which the Shias are urging the government to release their leader, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky, who has been in jail without trial since 2015 and is reported to be in failing health. </s> Many killed in Nigerian protests for release of Shia leader

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Security was high in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, Tuesday, a day after several people were killed in clashes between police and the country's main Shia group.

A police officer and a reporter for the Channels television network were among those killed in the clashes in the capital, Abuja, on Monday, police said.

At least 11 members of the Shia group were killed by police gunfire, said Ibrahim Musa, spokesman for the Islamic Movement of Nigeria.

Police spokesman Frank Mba blamed the Shias for the deaths. He said "heavily armed protesters defying all sense of decency violently attacked innocent citizens and police personnel on duty." He said an additional two police officers were injured. </s> Leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, rumored to have died in detention, has made his first public appearance since he was illegally detained by security forces in 2015.

Zakzaky, who is in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS), told reporters in the capital Abuja on Saturday that he was alive and well.

He also thanked Nigerians for their prayers as well as the DSS for allowing him access to his doctors.

“For the first time at least the security (officers) have allowed me to see my own doctors,” he said, according to footage of the exchange. “I am getting better.”

“So it was my own doctors who examined me. Before I used to be examined by security doctors, this time I did not agree, and my own doctors came to examine me,” he said.

It was unclear under what circumstances Zakzaky gave the interview.

Rumors of his death spread on the Nigerian social media this week.

The top Shia cleric lost his left eyesight in a raid which was carried out by the Nigerian army on his residence in the northern town of Zaria in December 2015.

During the raid, Zakzaky’s wife sustained serious wounds too and more than 300 of his followers and three of his sons were killed. Zakzaky, his wife, and a large number of the cleric’s followers have since been in custody.

Despite the ruling of a Federal High Court, which ordered his unconditional release in 2016, the Nigerian government has refused to set him free.

Earlier this week, a UK-based NGO known as the Islamic Human Rights Commission, voiced concern over the health condition of the detained Muslim cleric.

The clergyman is said to have been charged with “criminal conspiracy and inciting public disturbances.”

During the third day of consecutive protests on Tuesday, Nigerian government forces opened fire on demonstrators demanding the release of Zakzaky. One person was severely injured during clashes with Nigerian forces and another 50 people were detained in Abuja.

Nigerian sources told Press TV on Monday that at least two young students were killed by security forces during the ongoing protests in Kaduna which broke out on January 7. </s> At least six Shiite Muslim protesters were killed in clashes with Nigerian police in the capital Abuja on Monday, witnesses told AFP, the latest deadly violence over the lengthy detention of a religious leader.

Hundreds of protesters from the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), a Shia sect, marched demanding the release of pro-Iranian cleric Ibrahim Zakzaky, who has been held since December 2015 on various charges, including terrorism.

Hundreds of his supporters, including women and children, were killed by the security forces, in December 2015, according to a toll established by rights watchdogs.

After witnessing the violence on Monday, a Shiite protestor, Abdullahi Musa, said: “I am right now in front of six dead bodies, one of them is an underage boy.”

IMN kicks as court adjourns El Zakzaky’s bail hearing(Opens in a new browser tab)

An AFP journalist said he saw police open fire with live ammunition as well as tear gas, while protesters threw petrol bombs at the officers.

“I saw six people dead in different places, one of them was a teenager,” the journalist said.

A senior police officer was also killed in the violence, according to local reports, which the journalist verified.

The IMN have held almost daily marches in the capital in recent months amid concerns Zakzaky’s health is deteriorating.

Zakzaky remains in government custody despite the federal high court ordering his release.

The government has refused and filed fresh criminal charges, including culpable homicide that is “punishable with death”.

The move has enraged his supporters who say Zakzaky is in urgent need of medical treatment being denied by the authorities.

Police on Monday described the clashes as “a violent protest” but gave no casualty figures.

“The police are taking adequate measures to bring the situation under control,” Nigerian police spokesperson Frank Mba said.

Amnesty International condemned the police action as a “reckless use of force”.

“This new crackdown is part of a shocking pattern in which security forces have used live ammunition to disperse IMN supporters who are simply exercising their freedom of expression,” the rights group said.

Nigerian broadcast company Channels TV said one of its journalists was hit by a stray bullet.

Zakzaky has been at loggerheads with Nigeria’s secular authorities for years because of his call for an Iranian-style Islamic revolution.

He was detained after violence during a religious procession in Kaduna State, northern Nigeria in December 2015.

Rights groups say some 350 mostly unarmed Shiite marchers were killed by the Nigerian army and buried in mass graves.

Since then, several protest marches by IMN supporters have led to violence with the police.

In October 2018, the IMN and human rights groups said, more than 40 people were killed when the security forces opened fire on crowds on the outskirts of the capital. The official toll is six.

After a rare visit by medical staff, the IMN said Zakzaky was suffering from a number of conditions including lead poisoning, high blood pressure, and glaucoma which can lead to partial blindness.

Zakzaky’s wife, Zeenah Ibrahim, has also been detained since 2015. She had an un-treated bullet wound, medical staff said.

Their son Mohammed Zakzaky earlier this month said it was a miracle they were still alive.

“It appears that there is a deliberate attempt to assassinate my parents through deliberate negligence towards their health,” he said.

A spokesperson for President Muhammadu Buhari last week called for an end to the IMN’s protests which “openly insult the President”.

The IMN said they would continue demonstrating as past court orders for Zakzaky’s release had been ignored.

“This government deliberately intends to provoke the movement into violence,” said IMN spokesperson Ibrahim Musa in a statement.

The IMN, which emerged as a student movement in the late 1970s, was inspired by the Islamic revolution in Iran.

The sect is met with hostility in Nigeria, where the Sunni elite are allied with Saudi Arabia. </s> ABUJA — Nigerian troops and police clashed on Tuesday with Shi’ite Muslim marchers in the capital Abuja and gunfire could be heard, according to a Reuters witness.

The air was thick with teargas as soldiers and police officers made arrests. The Shi’ite group marched in protest against the continued detention of its leader, despite a court ruling that he be released.

The violence happened a day after at least three people – including a journalist and senior policeman – were killed in a similar confrontation in the administrative heart of Abuja. As many as 10 more people may have died in the violence, a spokesman for the Shi’ites said that day.

President Muhammadu Buhari, a Sunni like the vast majority of Nigeria’s Muslim community, warned in a statement before Tuesday’s protest: “Let nobody or group doubt or test our will to act in the higher interest of the majority of our citizens.”

He added: “Perpetrators of the mayhem will not go unpunished (and) no government can tolerate unceasing affront to constituted authority.”

Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) members regularly take to the streets of Abuja to call for the release of Ibrahim Zakzaky, who has been in detention since 2015. They say Zakzaky requires medical help. Live ammunition and teargas have been used by security forces in recent weeks.

Clashes between police and Zakzaky’s backers have raised fears that the IMN might turn to violent insurgency as did Sunni Islamist group Boko Haram after police killed their leader in 2009. </s> ABUJA, July 23 (Reuters) - Nigerian troops and police clashed on Tuesday with Shi'ite Muslim marchers in the capital Abuja and gunfire could be heard, according to a Reuters witness.

The air was thick with teargas as soldiers and police officers made arrests. The Shi'ite group marched in protest against the continued detention of its leader, despite a court ruling that he be released.

President Muhammadu Buhari, a Sunni like the vast majority of Nigeria's Muslim community, warned in a statement before Tuesday's protest: "Let nobody or group doubt or test our will to act in the higher interest of the majority of our citizens."

He added: "Perpetrators of the mayhem will not go unpunished (and) no government can tolerate unceasing affront to constituted authority."

Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) members regularly take to the streets of Abuja to call for the release of Ibrahim Zakzaky, who has been in detention since 2015. They say Zakzaky requires medical help. Live ammunition and teargas have been used by security forces in recent weeks.

Clashes between police and Zakzaky's backers have raised fears that the IMN might turn to violent insurgency as did Sunni Islamist group Boko Haram after police killed their leader in 2009. </s> The detained leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, IMN, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, has made his first public appearance more than two years after he was detained by the Nigerian government.

Mr. El-Zakzaky met with a select group of journalists on Saturday at the State Security Service office in Abuja, Channels Television reported.

PREMIUM TIMES was not invited to the meeting organised by the State Security Service, and could not independently confirm Mr. El-Zakzaky’s appearance or condition.

Mr. El-Zakzaky, who leads Nigeria’s most popular Shi’ia group, has been in the custody of the SSS since 2015. He has been held without trial despite court orders directing his release.

The appearance came a day after rumours of Mr. El-Zakzaky’s death spread on the social media. The rumour was denied by his lawyer, Femi Falana.

In a brief video on Channels, Mr. El-Zakzaky is seen walking unsteadily out of a building to speak to journalists. He is later driven away in a Toyota Prado SUV.

Mr. El-Zakzaky said he had been allowed access to his personal physician for the first time, and thanked Nigerians for their prayers.

“It was severe on me on Monday but subsequently it started subsiding and for the first time at least the security allowed me to see my own Doctors.

“So it was my own doctors who examined me. Before I used to be examined by security doctors, this time I did not agree, and my own doctors came to examine me.

“I am getting better, thanks to all your prayers,” Mr. Zakzaky said before leaving for the vehicle.

Reacting to Mr. El-Zakzaky’s appearance, the IMN spokesperson, Ibrahim Musa, told PREMIUM TIMES on telephone that none of the IMN members were aware of the arrangement.

“We have seen the one minute video, but what they should do is to obey the court order by freeing the Sheik so that he can go and look after his health,” he said.

“We will continue to press for our demand until the federal government obey’s the court order,” Mr. Musa said.

The IMN leader and his wife were arrested on December 14, 2015in Zaria following a clampdown on Shiites by the Nigerian Army.

At least 347 members Shiites were killed and secretly buried in mass graves by the army.

A Federal High Court in Abuja in December 2016 ordered the release of Mr. Zakzaky and his wife. The government refused to obey the order.

Members of the IMN group have been staging series of processions across the northern states demanding their release. </s> Islamic Movement of Nigeria said today that 11 people who joined in the Free El-Zakzaky protest in Abuja on Monday were killed by the Nigerian police.

Ibrahim Musa, president of the Media Forum of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria said an additional 30 people were injured.

There has been no official figure of casualties by the police.

The IMN spokesman said the protest by its members was peaceful.

He said trouble started when the police prevented the group who are on a peaceful protest from moving to the Federal Secretariat.

His statement was silent on the burning of the outpost of the National Emergency and Management Agency and two of its Rapid Response vehicles.

Here is the full statement:

Abuja today yet again witnessed one of the worst cases of blatant trampling of the rights of citizens ever seen in the Federal Capital, when joint security forces consisting of both uniformed men and officers of the Nigerian Police Force and others in mufti, unleashed their fury on a Free Zakzaky protest by members of the Islamic Movement.

The procession, attended by several thousands of persons, including very young children, the aged, women and the physically challenged, met with an extreme rage indicative of deep seated animosity the Nigerian authorities bear for the Movement.

What actually happened was that the protesters started the procession from NITEL junction and on getting to Federal Secretariat, the police cordoned off the road and started firing at them.

A lot of people have been shot but for now we can only confirm 11 deaths, but several are injured.The figure for now stood at 30. Though we are aware of the fact that the security agents have been going around taking off those they killed from the streets.

Even some seriously injured persons that were taken to Abuja University teaching Hospital Gwagwalada; the police went there and took away about 11 people they shot during the protest.

We strongly dispute the claim by the police that the protesters shot at them because throughout our processions we have not been carrying any arms right from 2015 to date. It was also the police who shot at the Reporter of Channels TV, another indication that many innocent people were shot at by the police, including some of their own.

In this era so social media the brutality displayed by the police today has been captured with some pictures showing the police setting up the bonfires and there are videos that captured the police carting away their victims”.

Members of IMN took to the streets of Abuja on Monday to demand the release of Ibrahim Zakzaky, their leader, who has been in detention since 2015.

The protest, which began from NITEL junction at Wuse zone 2, was disrupted by armed policemen who cordoned off the road leading to the national assembly and three arms zone.

Bullets were fired at the protesters as they advanced towards the Eagle Square. The situation sparked tension as workers fled while motorists abandoned their vehicles on the road.
Hundreds of followers from the Shia group Islamic Movement for Nigeria were out on the streets in Abuja to demand the release of their leader Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, who has been detained since 2015. Police opened fire and killed eleven protesters and a journalist. A police officer was also killed in the fight.