Shiites protest in Wuse 2, Abuja. Photo credit: Twitter.
The Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), also known as Shi’ites, says the Nigerian army cannot face its members if they had weapons. Shi’ites made the comment on Monday during a press conference on the recent clash between soldiers and its members in Abuja. The leader of the group, Abdullahi Zango, said the statement issued by the military and police over the killing of Shi’ites were “fabricated lies cooked up to cover their atrocities”. Zango accused the soldiers of attacking defenceless protesters. He said: “They continue to say that we are armed, this is a blatant lie. If we are armed, Nigeria army cannot face us. “If we have weapons with us, Nigeria army is too small to face us. With our courage and brevity, with empty hands, they are running away from us talk less of when we have arms. “They know that we are not armed because they are cowards.” Zango also accused the police of planting persons with arms among the Shi’ites in a bid to incriminate the group. He said the movement has paid N8 million as hospital bills for 106 Shi’ites who are receiving treatment at various hospitals in Abuja. The leader noted that an additional N25 million will be needed to cater for other casualties who are still recuperating. He claimed that the total number of persons killed by the security agents is now 47. Zango added that the group does not regret throwing stones at the security agents during the clash, saying it is the only weapon of the defenceless. He said: “The situation of throwing stones at them, yes it is the weapon of somebody who is not armed.”