Shiites members arrested with bottles of petroleum
By Baron Ike
The police in Abuja have arrested 400 members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), otherwise known as Shiites Sect in connection with Tuesday’s continuing protest at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
It was on a day the leadership said the ongoing protest in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital will continue continue not withstanding the killings associated with it.
Commissioner of Police in the FCT, Bala Ciroma, said the suspects now detained at the command’s headquarters in Abuja will be arraigned in court on Wednesday if investigation is concluded.
The protest entered day three on Tuesday, having started on Sunday, October 28.
Between Sunday and Tuesday, no less than 20 members are believed to have been mowed down by either the military or police personnel during the clashes.
But it appears the members are not ready to stop the protest yet.
Shuaibu Musa, spokesman for the group said on a radio programme of the Ray Power on Tuesday that the protest would continue regardless of the deaths so far recorded.
Hear him: “We will continue to protest. And by the way, yesterday was not even a protest. It was a religious mourning procession. And if you are aware of what Shiite is all about, you’ll see that at this moment today, its done in many other places where Shiite predominates. If you go to Iraq today, there are more than 20 million adherents doing this trek.
“If you are walking peacefully and someone comes to shoot at you, what will you do? Are you going to raise up your hand and say shoot me? The natural thing is that you will defend yourself with whatever you have. It was at that point that some of them started throwing stones at the military. Everybody saw the procession before the attacks.
“Our people left from Suleja in Niger State and came all the way to Zuba, and passed several checkpoints including the police station at Madalla. It was peaceful. You cannot expect a situation where people are marching peacefully, including women and children and then you come and open fire on them and you expect them to just bare their chest. That is very wrong.
“We don’t have hoodlums in our typical processions. You’ll see some people wearing reflective jacket by the way. Those ones are there to control traffic and to keep the procession organised. Anybody we identified that is trying to cause confusion, is being taken out and dealt with.”
Meanwhile, the Police in Federal Capital Territory said 400 members of Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), had been arrested in connection with Tuesday’s violent protest in the territory.
Ciroma, stated this when he presented the suspects to the media at the command’s headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday.
He said that the suspects had been detained for discreet investigation, adding that dangerous weapons were also recovered from them.
He said that the police recovered 31 bottles of petrol bombs and other dangerous weapons brought in the territory by the suspects.
Ciroma said that among the suspects was their “First Aider”, one Salahuddeen Ahmad, male, 23, who hails from Illela Local Government of Sokoto State.
He said that all the suspects would be arraigned upon conclusion of investigation.
The commissioner said that arrest of the sect members as part of the continuous efforts of the command to provide residents of the territory with adequate security, protect lives and property and prevent breakdown of law and order.
He stated that the command intercepted and arrested some members of “the EL-Zakzakky Islamic Movement of Nigeria with 31 bottles of petrol bomb and other dangerous weapons being ferried into FCT by their members.
“It is for the purpose of causing mayhem and attack on innocent citizens, including law enforcement agents deployed to protect lives and property.”
According to him, members of the group without provocation of any sort went on rampage during a protest and burnt down a police vehicle.
He said that the incident occurred on Tuesday and that the sect burnt a Police Rapid Response Squad, (RRS) patrol vehicle deployed at Ademola Adetokumbo Crescent.
Ciroma explained that at 12.30 p.m., operatives on stop-and-search duty along Tipper Garage area, intercepted and arrested one Mustapha Abdullahi, male, 20, of Ungwan Gwari, Suleja, with 18 bottles of petrol bombs concealed in a traveling bag.
“To smuggle himself and the patrol bombs into the city, he disguised as a passenger and boarded a taxi with other unsuspecting passengers,” he said.
He said that Abdullahi ran out of luck when vigilant policemen on duty at the point “upon reasonable suspicion’’ intercepted the cab and conducted a search on the only bag in the car and found the improvised bombs.
He said that the suspect was immediately arrested, adding that he would be arraigned at the end of investigation.
The commissioner added that one Abdullahi Umar, 22, was also nabbed with a bag containing 13 well packaged bottles of petrol bomb.
“During investigation, the suspect confessed that he arrived Suleja from Sokoto State on Sunday to join other members of their sect for protest.
“He also confessed that he was ferrying the patrol bomb to FCT to confront law enforcement agents,” he said.
Ciroma said that one lighter was also recovered from the suspect, adding that he would also be arraigned soon.
Speaking to newsmen, one of the suspects, Mustapha Abdullahi, said that the bottles contained petrol.
According to him, at the time of my arrest, I didn’t do anything with the bottles of petrol.
“I came to Abuja to use it to break stone but today something happened in Abuja and they blocked me on the road and arrested me,” he said.
Abdullahi admitted that the police recovered 18 bottles of the petrol bombs from him, saying “I am a member of the Shi’ite.”
Another suspect, Abdullahi Umar, said: “I don’t have any mission, I just wanted to defend myself with it.
“On Saturday at Zuba, soldiers came and started shooting us, we didn’t do anything to them.”
While explaining their activities, Umar said: “If they start shooting us, I will just put it on the grass then I will put fire on the grass so that our brothers will get way to escape.
“I came into Abuja from Sokoto.”
. Additional report from NAN