Forty-Nine Shiite Members Buried After Clash With Security Operatives In Abuja

The Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) said 49 Shiite members have lost their lives since the inception of the movement’s protests on Saturday in Abuja.

The army and police fired live bullets at crowds who marched near and in the capital, Abuja, protesting for the release of leader Ibrahim Zakzaky, who has been in custody since 2015.

In Mararaba village, Nasarawa state just over the border from the Federal Capital Territory, mourners gathered in preparation for the burial of 20 victims.

AFP reporters counted the white-shrouded bodies, as IMN members and tearful family members of the deceased gathered to pay their final respects.

“These are the victims the Nigerian Army attacked on Monday at Kugbo security check point on our way to Abuja,” said IMN member Abdullahi Mohammad Musa.

The group’s spokesperson, Ibrahim Musa, said separately that another burial for six people was held in the northern city of Zaria.

“We are feeling bad, we are feeling wronged, we are oppressed,” he added.

Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, is almost evenly split between a mostly Muslim north – which is predominantly Sunni – and a largely Christian south.

Experts have warned the government that a heavy-handed response to the group risks sparking conflict in a volatile region where poverty is widespread.

The December 2015 clashes that led to Zakzaky’s detention saw the army kill more than 300 of his supporters, who were buried in mass graves, according to human rights groups.

The latest clashes and the military’s use of deadly force against civilians have raised fears that the IMN could become radicalised in the same way as the Islamist group Boko Haram in northeast Nigeria, who were subject to a crackdown in 2009.