A violent clash between the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command and the Shi’ite Muslim group in Abuja has resulted in casualties on both sides, sparking a heated dispute over how the events unfolded.
On Monday, the FCT Police Command released a video capturing the confrontation, which led to the deaths of at least two police officers and Shi’ite members. According to the police, the Shi’ite group, also known as the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), attacked their personnel with stones, machetes, and makeshift explosives during a religious procession at Wuse junction, Sunday August 25.
The police alleged an “unprovoked attack” on law enforcement and vowed to hunt down those responsible.
The FCT Police Command Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, shared a video on her X handle depicting an attack on police.
“I’m saddened by the unprovoked attack and brutal killing of our officers by this criminal, heartless individual called Shi’ite members. This heinous act is unacceptable. Those responsible must face the wrath of the law. Restwell our gallant officers. We’ll haunt your killers,” Adeh said.
Shi’ite Group Deny
However, the Shi’ite group on Monday vehemently denied the police’s allegations. Abdullahi Musa, a leader of the Shi’ite procession, accused the police of opening fire on their unarmed members, who were peacefully participating in a religious procession to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Husain. “They opened fire with live ammunition. I was there, and everybody started running. We were not armed. We were only carrying placards. Is a placard a weapon? If the people knew that we were armed, they would not face us,” the leader of the Shi’ite procession group, Abdullahi Musa, said.
He claimed that the police’s narrative was a fabrication and suggested that undercover officers might have been involved in setting police vehicles ablaze in order to implicate the group.
Musa also pointed out that the Shi’ite group had notified the public and the FCT Police Command of their peaceful procession through a formal statement. He argued that the police’s heavy-handed response was unjustified and that their members were targeted despite efforts to avoid confrontation.
The group’s march was for The day of Ashura, a Shia Muslim commemoration marking the martyrdom at Karbala of Imam Hussein – a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. It falls on the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic lunar calendar.
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