The FCT Police Command has said that its officers and men, yesterday, dispersed unruly members of Islamic Movement of Nigeria, otherwise known as Shi’ite sect, and restored normalcy to parts of Maitama, Abuja, following a violent protest.
The sect members were protesting the continued detention of their leader, Ibrahim Elzakyzaky. The protest, according to the police, however, went violent, with the sect members attacking innocent citizens, disrupting business activities, obstructing traffic movement and smashing windscreen of innocent citizens’ vehicles in the aff ected areas. A press statement by the command’s spokesperson, DSP Anjuguri Manza, said:“Following the unfortunate incident which also resulted in the destruction of some government and Police operational vehicles, the members of the Shi’ite group also injured 22 police personnel during the protest.”
He said exhibits recovered from the protesters include; catapults, iron bars, stones, ball bearings and pink head bands. ad bands. The police spokesman further said about 115 members of the sect were arrested at the scene by Police operatives, noting that a joint team of detectives from the command in conjunction with operatives from the IGP Monitoring Unit ,have commenced investigation into the incident.
The spokesperson said the suspects would be charged to court upon the conclusion of investigation. The command warned members of the movement to desist from further disrupting the peace, harmony and free flow of traffic in the FCT, just as it urged members of the public, particularly parents, not to allow their children or wards to be used as instrument of violence in any demonstration by any group that could jeopardise public peace and harmony. The command stated that, contrary to speculations in a section of the media, no life was lost in the violent protest as the police operatives deployed to quell the protest were professional in handling the situation. It was gathered that the sect defied police warning by involving in another round of protest at the Unity Fountain, beside Transcorp Hotel yesterday In attempt to halt the protest, the police used teargas and armoured car carrying hot water in other to forcefully disperse the protesters, while they continually pelted the police patrol vehicles with stones, thereby destroying and smashing windscreen of both moving and parked vehicles along the road and frontages of some offices, especially the National Communication Commission (NCC) and National University Commission (NUC).
