BREAKING: Again Shiite protesters storm Abuja, set Federal Secretariat on fire. By Toby Prince
Members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) on Monday stormed the streets of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
This time around the radical Islamic sect targeted the Federal Secretary, setting the building on fire.
As of the time of filing this report (1:50 pm), no fewer than two vehicles belonging to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) was set ablaze.
The radical group had vowed to continue their daily protest on the streets of the federal capital territory (FCT) until Ibrahim Zakzaky, their leader, is freed.
Last week, the police restricted all protests in Abuja to the Unity Fountain following clashes between the sect and security agencies.
But the Shi’ites dared the police to be ready to kill more of their members who will be out on the streets.
Ibrahim Musa, a member of IMN who spoke to journalists in Abuja accused the federal government of refusing to obey the court order which freed Zakzaky and restored his fundamental human rights.
“Why is government hunting somebody that is out to fight for his or her right? You have killed more than a thousand of his (Zakzaky’s) followers and put them in a mass grave. You keep on violating the law of the land and you think nobody should come out and challenge you? That is bad. This shows that the government of is oppressing its citizens. And you do not expect me to cross my legs and allow President Muhammadu Buhari to kill my leader,” he said.
“The protest will continue, and if they do not want to see us on the street, government should free our leader. If they want to kill, they should go ahead and kill. We are ready to die for our leader. Failure to free our leader, the government should get ready to kill more of us.
“The protests on the streets of Abuja are as a result of the government’s disregard for the judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction, the Federal High Court Abuja, which freed the revered leader of the movement from an illegal detention described by the government as ‘protective custody’.”