Nigerian Shiites killed in clashes with security forces

Nigeria’s largest Shiite Islamic group said Thursday security forces and “paid thugs” killed at least 20 of its members in numerous attacks on the group’s religious gatherings Wednesday.

Armed militants in Nigeria’s northwest Kaduna state torched and demolished the movement’s center, killing three of its members, according to a statement released by the Iran-backed Islamic Movement of Nigeria. The group also said a team of policemen in nearby Katsina state disrupted its procession, resulting in casualties.

“After firing tear gas canisters on the processions, the police opened fire with live bullets killing nine instantly and injuring about 20 others,” an earlier statement said.

Similar processions during Ashura—a holiday commemorating the martyrdom of Muhammad’s grandson—took place in other states. Katsina police spokesman Salisu Abubakar Agaisa said the number of deaths remains unconfirmed, but the security forces received commands to break up the Ashura gatherings.

Last week Kaduna state government officials declared the Shiite group unlawful and described its activities as dangerous to the security and good governance of the state.

Mallam Bala, a shop owner in Kaduna, said he saw some youths block the Shiite members from entering their communities after the police dispersed them with tear gas.

“Those who resisted were killed,” Bala told Daily Trust. “The house of their leader, Mukhtar, was burnt down, and their Markas [school] is currently being demolished by the youths.”

Tension escalated between the Shiite group and Nigeria’s government last December when the army killed more than 300 people in an attack on the group’s headquarters in Kaduna state. The government said the group triggered the attack by attempting to kill the country’s army chief. The movement’s leader, Ibraheem Zakzaky, has remained in police custody since December.

Pastor James Wuye, co-executive director of Interfaith Mediation Center in Kaduna state, said the continued violent crackdown on the movement could trigger an equally violent response from the group. He called for more dialogue with the sect, saying the violent reaction from youths highlighted the building tension within the community.

“The local community fears that [movement members] take the law into their hands and barricade access to people’s homes, and they feel threatened by that,” Wuye said. “For me, dialogue will be the solution.”

The Center for Social Justice, Equity, and Transparency called on the government Thursday to hold the Shiite group responsible for the clashes that resulted in multiple deaths. The center accused the Shiites of failing to respect the government’s mandate banning their activities: “The Shiite group’s years of terror has made the people of the north to be united against the wave of terrorism by the members, and they are ready to stake anything to support the security agencies in curbing their menace.”