A Nigerian Shiite group on Sunday
condemned a court order that allows the government to ban it on “terrorism”
grounds after a spate of deadly protests in the capital.
At least six protesters, a
trainee journalist and a senior police officer were killed on Monday when
violence flared during a march by the Islamic Movement of Nigeria to demand the
release of its leader Ibrahim Zakzaky.
Punch newspaper reported on
Saturday that a court in Abuja had granted an order permitting the government
to label the IMN’s activities “terrorism and illegality”.
The authorities need to publish
the order in the state gazette and two newspapers for it to come into force.
Court and justice ministry
sources confirmed the authenticity of the order. The government did not comment
officially.
At a news conference in Abuja on
Sunday, senior IMN official Yahiya Dahiru condemned the move as a “dangerous
development”.
“You can never stop an ideology,
you can never stop an idea, you can never stop our religion,” he said,
insisting protests would not stop until Zakzaky was freed.
Zakzaky was detained after
violence during a religious procession in December 2015. Rights groups say some
350 mostly unarmed Shiite marchers were killed by the Nigerian army.
In recent months there have been
repeated clashes during almost daily marches by the IMN in the capital as
concerns rise over Zakzaky’s health.
In October, the IMN and human
rights groups said more than 40 people were killed when the security forces
opened fire.
The Nigerian police this week
vowed to crackdown on “violent protests” by the group, with a heavy security
presence visible across the capital city.
Zakzaky and his wife Zeenah
Ibrahim have been in custody despite the federal high court ordering his
release in 2016.
The government refused and filed
fresh criminal charges, including culpable homicide that is punishable by
death.
The IMN, which emerged as a
student movement in the late 1970s, was inspired by the Islamic revolution in
Iran, and has close ties in the Shiite Islamic country.
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