Tensions flared once again in Abuja as members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), otherwise known as Shi’ites, yesterday launched a violent attack on a police checkpoint in the Wuse area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The unprovoked assault resulted in the death of three police officers, with two others left unconscious and currently receiving treatment at an Abuja hospital.
In addition, the group set three police patrol vehicles ablaze.
The attackers were reportedly armed with dangerous weapons, including knives, machetes, and locally improvised explosives.
It is not the first time the banned IMN has embarked on a controversial protest march in Abuja.
On September 27, 2021, the FCT Police Command arrested dozens of the outlawed group at a religious procession in the nation’s capital.
The Police said they intervened to stop members of the banned IMN as they had been causing “unnecessary hardship to motorists” along the Abuja-Kubwa expressway.
For 30 years, the Movement has conducted similar processions, some of which have ended in bloodshed.
*It was an unprovoked attack – FCT police
The FCT Command’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Josephine Adeh, confirmed the incident, stating, “The FCT Police Command wishes to confirm an unprovoked attack by the proscribed Islamic Movement of Nigeria, popularly known as the ‘Shi’ite’ group, on some personnel of the Nigeria Police Force attached to FCT Command at Wuse Junction by traffic light, where two police personnel were killed, three left unconscious in the hospital, and three police patrol vehicles set ablaze.”
*They attacked us first, proscribed Islamic group alleges
In response, Sheikh Sidi Munir Mainasara Sokoto, who claimed to be the spokesman of the group, stated that the Shi’ites were conducting their Arba’een Symbolic Trek in Wuse District when the incident occurred.
He further alleged that it was the police who initiated the attack, adding that the Shi’ites also suffered casualties.
The police have since made several arrests, and normalcy has been restored in the area.
As investigations continue, the reasons behind the attack remain unclear.
The FCT Commissioner of Police, CP Benneth Igweh, has condemned the attack and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice.
