Again, police crack down on protesting Shi’ites in Abuja

Members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) have again clashed with the Nigeria police force in Abuja.

The IMN members, popularly known as Shi’ites, were dispersed with teargas on Wednesday as they protested the continued detention of Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, their leader.

They had converged on area 10 in Garki, Abuja from where they matched towards area 2. But police officers confronted them at Area 2 junction, attempting to disperse them.

Efforts to disperse the protesting Shi’ites were, however, unsuccessful, after which the police fired gunshots into the air.

They also fired teargas at the Shi’ites,  leading to pandemonium in the area.

Some persons are said to have been wounded in the incident but TheCable could not confirm the number as of press time.

Two days ago members of the group were prevented from gaining access to the national assembly.

Zakzaky and his wife have been in detention since December.

Editor’s note: This picture was used for the purpose of illustration.