18 killed as Nigeria Muslim sect members clash with police
Members of pro-Iran Shiite group the Islamic Movement of Nigeria walk on the outskirts of the northern Nigerian city of Kano on November 14, 2016. At least 10 people were killed and several injured on November 14 when Nigerian police opened fire during clashes with pro-Iranian Shiites. PHOTO | AMINU ABUBAKAR | AFP
What you need to know:
- Trouble started at Tamburawa, the outskirts of Kano city, when the police tried to stop protesters.
- IMN sect members started peaceful protests on Saturday against the ban on the movement by the Kaduna State government.
- The protests have since spread to Kano and many other parts of the north.
ABUJA
At least 18 people died in clashes between protesting Shiite Muslims and the police in Kano, Northwest of Nigeria on Monday.
The violence erupted when the police tried to prevent protests by the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) members.
Trouble started at Tamburawa, the outskirts of Kano city, when the police tried to stop protesters.
Heavy security was deployed to the area while the major Kano- Zaria road was blocked.
IMN sect members started peaceful protests on Saturday against the ban on the movement by the Kaduna State government.
The protests have since spread to Kano and many other parts of the north.
The Shiite Muslims were pressing for the release of their spiritual leader, Sheik Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, who has been held since December last year.
CLASH WITH MILITARY
They were also protesting against the proscription of the sect by the government.
The founder of IMN, an umbrella body of Shiites and some of his followers, have been held in various prisons since the sect’s clash with the military. The clash in December in Zaria, a university town in Kaduna State, claimed more than 380 members of the sect.
President Muhammadu Buhari, in a national broadcast, accused the Shiites of holding their host communities hostage.
“They have constituted a government within a government," he said.
A Commission of Inquiry instituted by the state government to probe the deadly clash blamed the army for excessive use of force, but held that the Shiites were a menace.
The panel confirmed the massive killing of the sect members, but recommended the trial of those arrested and ordered the government to decide the fate of the sect.
