A video trending online shows how some members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), otherwise known as Shiites, were assaulted by Nigerian soldiers on Tuesday in Abuja.
In the video, the soldiers were seen beating, kicking and stabbing the defenceless protesters.
The security operatives also harassed passengers and passersby.
The Shiites had embarked a procession to mark the 40th day of the murder of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, who was killed on 10th Muharram.
SaharaReporters had earlier reported that about six members of the group were killed and several injured by security agents at Gwarinpa gate near Galadima during the procession.
Despite the ban on Shiites’ procession in Abuja, members of the sect have continued to march on the streets of the nation’s capital to celebrate their special days.
On July 28, 2021, a Kaduna High Court discharged and acquitted Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, IMN leader, who spent over five years in detention.
He was arrested after some of his followers clashed with soldiers in Zaria, Kaduna State, in 2015.
The Kaduna State government had charged him with culpable homicide.
