Religious Leaders Lead Anti-Shittes’ Protest In Kaduna

Religious leaders in the 19 northern states under the aegis of Northern Inter-Faith and Religious Organisations for Peace on Wednesday besieged the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters in Abuja, to protest against the activities of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria led by Ibrahim El-Zak Zakky.

They were received by the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Habila Joshak, on behalf of the IGP, who promised to act on their request.

The protesters carried various placards with inscriptions such as, “Terrorism is not part of our culture,” “We want the IGP to act now”, “Religious extremism and intolerance must be discouraged among others,” and others.

The President of NIFROP, Bishop Musa Fomson, said the Federal Government should put an end to the crises.

He expressed worries that the massive protest march of IMN from Zaria to Abuja, demanding the release of the sect leader might be hijacked by hoodlums to cause trouble.

Fomson, in the protest letter submitted to the office of the IGP, said the IMN, also known as Shi’ites, should allow the law to take its course since the Kaduna State Judicial Commission of Inquiry had submitted its report.

He said, “The Kaduna State Judicial Commission of Inquiry into this matter has submitted its report, which we think should be bringing sanity closer to the matter. Any further agitation that anyone has should now be addressed by institutions of the state especially in view of the fact that the commission has presented its report to the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai.

“Those that have grievances can therefore approach the court to air them even as we recognise that national interest and security will play crucial roles in what the court and even the military decide.

“We have,  however, seen that the IMN as a sect is bent on fomenting trouble with the controversial trek its members are undertaking from Kaduna to the FCT. The trek was preceded and is being backed with demonstrations in several cities of the northern states. From our point of view, this is a dangerous exercise for a group that has never agreed to sign up to mutually respect the rights of other faiths, sects or denominations.”

 “We believe their history with other Nigerians wherever their members gather in large numbers should have dissuaded them from attempting this Abuja stunt. This is why we are today staging this march to draw attention to the provocative activities of IMN, which has been prohibited across the 19 northern states.

 “We are telling Nigerians now that there is imminent security risk in the face of the freedom with which the IMN peddles extremism, terrorism and killings in the north without police intervention.”