Members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, IMN, otherwise known as Shiites, today, voiced concerns over the killing of five Shiites and injuring of 25 others during their peaceful pro-Palestinian demonstration in Kaduna.

Aliyu Umar Tirmizhi, in a statement he signed, identified Mahamud Umar, Ibrahim Rabiu, Haidar Ishaq, Mustapha Buruku and Ahmad Mustafa, as those killed in last Friday’s peaceful demonstration, noting that the 25 injured persons were in critical conditions.

The statement expressed grievance that the police shot sporadically at women, children, physically challenged and onlookers who spoke against the genocide perpetrated on Palestinians by Israel with live bullets, saying it would not accept the extrajudicial act and shall seek legal redress. It reads in part: “They killed five innocent persons, including minors, and injured 25, with some of them in very unstable situations. Unfortunately to the dismay of the general public and those who were present at the incident, the Kaduna Police Command, through its spokesperson, addressed the press and gave a contrary statement claiming that they never fired any shot. We state here that, this is being extremely economical of the truth, and it is very shameful.

“We expected the police to have at least stated the crime we committed for attacking our peaceful demonstration, not to concoct fake stories to deceive the public whereas those in the areas it happened saw everything. “And another surprising thing is that the spokesperson of the Kaduna State Police Command came out and said that we were arrested with deadly weapons. Everyone knows that when we are conducting our activities, apart from the flags that we raise, we don’t carry anything else.

“There are video clips, still pictures and even media reports available to prove this, most of which are already viral on social media. It is now a global phenomenon worldwide, including major cities of Europe and United States that people stage mass demonstrations in condemnation of the killings and destructions perpetrated by Israel in Gaza. Are the Nigerian police working for Israeli government?

“We wish the police would use such force on the kidnappers and bandits having a field day in the state, and comb them out of the bushes. Unfortunately, it is the other way round. On a final note, we wish to state categorically that we are not going to accept this extrajudicial act perpetrated by the police and shall seek legal redress before a competent court of jurisdiction in the country.”

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