Shiite members protesting the continued detention of Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky in Kaduna on Thursday...
Shiites under the aegis of the Academic Forum of Islamic Movement in Nigeria on Thursday protested the continued detention of the leader of the IMN, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, his wife and other members of the group in various detention facilities in the Northern states.
The detained Shiites members, they claimed were detained since the group clashed with the Nigerian Army on December 12, 2015 in Zaria, Kaduna State.
Hundreds of Shiites gathered at the ever busy Leventis Roundabout in the Kaduna metropolis, urging the Army authority and the Federal Government to release the leader, his wife, and other members of the sect in detention.
The President of the Academic Forum of Islamic Movement of Nigeria, Dr. Abudllahi Ibrahim, insisted in the statement that the Shiites would not rest on their oars until their leader and others are freed.
“We are echoing our demand that our leader Sheik Zakzaky, his wife Zeenatu and all others members of the movement who are now languishing in different prisons and Army Barracks nationwide be released.”
Before the Kaduna State Command of the Nigeria Police Force could know that the Shiites members were protesting without a permit, the protesters had dispersed and left for their respective homes.
The Kaduna State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, Abubakar Zubairu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said the Shiites dispersed on their own before the arrival of his men at the rally ground.
He said, “Our men (police) have taken over the place to stop further use of the place by the Shiites. If our men had arrived there early enough, we would have stopped the rally. The Shiites left the Roundabout before the police arrived.”
The Shiites said in a statement shortly after the rally that the Movement will continue to protest or demand for the release of their leader.
Godwin Isenyo, Kaduna
