No fewer than 110 members of the Islamic Movement popularly known as Shiites led by Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky have been held by security operatives since 2019, the religious group has said.
A breakdown of the figure, according to the Islamic sect, shows that 64 persons have been held in Kuje prison in Abuja since July 2019, 32 in Keffi prison, Nasarawa State since August 2024 and 14 at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) since December 14 2024.
A member of the organisation, Abdullahi Musa, at a press briefing in Abuja, claimed that 79 protesters were killed by security forces during the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari between January 8 2018 and July 2021.
According to him, it is obvious that security agencies have declared war on members of the organisation as nothing has changed in the present government of Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Musa said, “In December 2015, one of the worst massacres in the history of Nigeria happened in Zaria. The Nigerian military, fully armed to the teeth, committed one of the deadliest acts of terror against defenceless civilians. Over a thousand people were extrajudicially killed and buried in mass graves; thousands of others were mortally wounded and detained.
“Some months after this massacre, in an interview with New York Times, which was also publicised by the German media outfit Deutsche Welle (DW), the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS), dropped a bombshell that the Zaria massacre was sponsored by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in their effort to curtail the influence of Iran in Africa.
“But the KSA is not a lone actor in the massacre. There is the U.S. and Israel, each protecting its interest. The former is known for its expansionist-exploitative agenda on countries that have abundant natural resources and the latter for its tendency to exterminate any Pro-Palestinian resistance movement, of which the Islamic movement is one.
“In early 2015, the former US Secretary of State, John Kerry, met tyrant Buhari in Lagos, and one of the conditions given to Buhari for US support of his candidacy is the assassination of his eminence Sayyid Ibraheem Yaqoub El-Zakzaky (H).
“Unsurprisingly, tyrant Buhari never dismissed this claim publicly made by the Saudi crown prince, as weighty and politically sensitive as it is. Instead, whenever asked about the massacre, he always underscores its significance, defends the actions of the military, and points accusing fingers at the victims of that heinous crime.
“The tyrant Buhari’s regime spent eight years with nothing to show for it except for unprecedented poverty, economic hardship, hunger, and ever-increasing insecurity that plagued the nation. However, they used all the weapons in their arsenal and mobilised every security parastatal to fight the Islamic movement.
“From campaigns of calumny in the media to arbitrary arrests, death threats, and constant attacks on peaceful protesters; the demolition of buildings and graveyards; unlawful detention; and so many other acts of violence too numerous to mention; the Islamic Movement, and in particular its leader Sayyid Ibraheem Ya’qoub El-Zakzaky (H), has endured one of the harshest state-sponsored acts of terrorism.
“These and so many other actions that followed made various human rights groups and public affairs analysts come to the conclusion that the Zaria massacre was indeed a foreign agenda masterminded by former President Buhari.
“To our dismay, we come to realise that the story is not different with the incumbent administration. The security operatives, with impunity, still continue to persecute the activists of the Islamic movement.
“For instance: On Friday, May 31, 2024, during Juma’at prayer at the National Mosque, Abuja, Benneth Igweh directed CP Crack Squad to attack and arrest six pro-Palestine protesters and detained them at SARS Abattoir for several months without a court order.
“On Sunday, August 25, 2024, there was an attack on Abuja Arba’een Symbolic trekkers, killing scores of them around Wuse Market. On Sunday, August 25, 2024, there was an attack on a Guest House located behind Abbatoir in Suleja town, at around 4:30 p.m. The operatives committed various unprovoked atrocities against innocent civilians, such as setting ablaze a car parked at the entrance of the house, vandalising many valuable facilities, and arresting dozens of people present at the scene.
“Similarly, on Monday, August 26, 2024, the Nigerian police committed one of the worst blasphemies against Islam by the removal of the Hijab worn by the Muslim sisters arrested during the 2024 Abuja Arba’een Symbolic Trek.
“Likewise, on Tuesday, August 27, 2024, around 5:30 p.m., there was an attack on Islamiyyah School near Airport Road. During the attack, the police destroyed public and private properties (within and outside the school) and arrested innocent people around the school.
“Moreover, on Wednesday, August 28, 2024, around 9:00 a.m., they attacked the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, FCT Abuja, arrested patients in the hospital, and detained them at SARS Abbatoir.
“Also, on Sunday, October 13, 2024, they attacked our activities at the Decency Event Centre, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja, and arrested two participants of the programme. The unlawful attack on our activities continued on December 14 2024, at Laralek House, Highpoint Events and Conference Hall, Ibi Close, Area 11, Garki, Abuja, where the 9th Anniversary of the 2015 Zaria Massacre was supposed to take place.
“Before the commencement of the programme the joint team of Police, DSS, the Army, and other security agents barricaded the Hall (the venue of the programme) around 7:00 am and arrested the participants of the programme together with some people around the facility. Up to this moment, 14 people are still in detention without a court order.
“Furthermore, on December 23 2024, the police arrested more than 200 celebrants of the birthday anniversary of the daughter of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) in Abuja. Nursing mothers, babies, children, and the underage were among those arrested and detained by the police at the SARS Abattoir, Abuja, without court order.
“This continued act of violence made it clear that President Tinubu took over the dirty job of the previous regime. Is his government, by any chance, continuing the ill-advised foreign agenda of crushing down the Islamic Movement under the leadership of his eminence Sayyid Ibraheem Ya’qoub El-Zakzaky (H)?
“Certainly, these persistent acts of violence against Islamic activities being organised by the brothers and sisters of the Islamic Movement are a direct attack on Muslims and Islam. It’s high time that Bola Tinubu comes out in the open to declare his intention of continuing with the atrocities of his predecessor, tyrant Buhari!!
“All we want to make clear is that the Islamic Movement is here to stay. It is our religion. It is an ideology. It is a concept and not an organisation. It can not be crushed or eliminated!
“The Islamic Movement is here to stay, and no amount of persecution can deter us from carrying out our religious activities. As a nation that claims to be democratic, it’s a shame that some people are being marginalised by the state due to their religious beliefs.”
Friday Olokor
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