No fewer than four persons lost their lives and about 20 others injured when the police clashed with members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), also known as Shiites during a procession as part of activities to mark the International Quds Day yesterday in Kaduna.
The incident occurred when the police allegedly fired shots at the processing members in a bid to disperse them.
Meanwhile, Kaduna State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Mansir Hasan confirmed that three of their officers also sustained injuries following an attack from the Shiite members, adding that the injured officers have been taken to the hospital for treatment.
He however denied the allegations that they killed members of the IMN, saying that no live ammunition was used to disperse the processing Shiite members.
The PPRO said, “We got the information that the members of the proscribed IMN were going to hold a massive protest in the state and the command deployed its men to most of the strategic places to stop them from blocking the road, especially Ahmadu Bello Way, Kaduna.
“On sighting our men deployed there, the IMN members started throwing stones, catapults and locally made guns against our men which led to three of our men sustaining injuries and now receiving treatment at a police clinic,” he said.
He said the police used teargas to disperse them which also led to the arrest of eight suspects.
He listed following items recovered from the suspects to include, three locally fabricated guns, catapults and other dangerous locally made weapons.
On the alleged killing of four IMN members, the PPRO denied the allegation saying “where are the bodies of those killed?”
“If they claimed four of their members were killed, where are the bodies and which hospital were they taken to? How can we identify them? Our men didn’t use live ammunition but only used teargas to disperse them,” he said.
The Shiite members had converged near the Katsina roundabout along Ahmadu Bello Way shortly after the Friday prayers to carry out what they called a peaceful procession before the police came to disperse them which resulted into a clash.
This situation created tension among residents particularly among those with businesses situated along Ahmadu Bello Way as shots were fired by the police to disperse the Shiite members.
Speaking with newsmen after the incident, Malam Aliyu Tirmiziy, one of the leaders of the Shiites confirmed that four of their members were killed while 20 others were injured.
He said, “We usually come out on the last Friday of every Ramadan to process peacefully and show our support to the people of Palestine for the inhuman treatment they are being forced to face which is also being done by others across the globe.
“We usually have a peaceful procession but this time around, as we were about to start, the police came and threw tear gas at us and started shooting and in the process, four of our members were killed while 20 were injured.”
