Members of IMN, otherwise known as Shi’ites, stated this on Sunday in reaction to a fresh order by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, for the arrest and demolition of their structures nationwide. A press release by Ibrahim Musa, the President of IMN’s Media Forum, also said the order by the police highest command contravenes the constitutional right of members of the sect to religious freedom. The statement reads in part, “The IGP based this curtailing of our religious rights on alleged violent protests on July 22 that led to the death of Deputy Commissioner of Police, Umar Usman and a youth corps member, Precious Owolabi and on the assertion that the Islamic Movement has been proscribed by the government. “This recent order given on the eve of Muharram (first month in the Islamic calendar) this year underlines the intention of the government to continue this pattern of attacks against Shia Islam and prevent us from conducting all our Muharram religious mourning obligations. “Already, a parade of a show of force by the Sokoto police command in dozens of vehicles has started in a neighbourhood with a large population of members of the Islamic Movement. “To this end, we want to draw the attention of well-meaning Nigerians and the international community to the fact that the major problem confronting this country is certainly not the free Zakzaky processions, but rather the security challenges characterized by incessant kidnappings, attacks by bandits and terror attacks in most parts of the North. “The Sheikh Zakzaky-led Islamic Movement is not a security threat to Nigeria and Nigerians and has never ever been. Certainly, none of our religious rites, including the Ashura mourning sessions and its associated mourning procession or the mould procession for which members of the Islamic Movement are well known for, can be of any threat to the nation.
