Nigerian troops and police clashed on Thursday with Shi’ite Muslim protesters in the capital Abuja and shots could be heard.
TOP MEDIA reports that the air was thick with tear gas as soldiers and police officers made arrests. The Shi’ite group marched demanding the Federal Government to set free the “passport” of their leader, Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, which was seized since the Zaria massacre of 2015.
An apparent backer of Sheikh Zakzaky wrote on Facebook on Thursday afternoon: “Animals in human form are sporadically shooting at innocent citizens now in Abuja.
“They injured multitudes of adherents of Zakzaky and apprehended others. The protesters trooped out for protest to demand the government to set free the “passport” of their leader.”
Watch the video here.
This media platform reports that the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) members regularly take to the streets of Abuja to protest against various actions of the government against the group and its leader.
Clashes between police and Zakzaky’s backers have raised fears that the IMN might turn to violent insurgency as did Sunni Islamist group Boko Haram after police killed their leader in 2009.
