The federal government's request
for the proscription of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria as a terrorist organisation has been granted by a
Federal High Court in Abuja.
According to PUNCH, the court
made the declaration on Friday following an ex parte application filed by the
federal government through the office of the attorney-general of the federation
(AGF).
IMN members better known as
Shi’ites have been involved in clashes with security agencies in recent times.
On Monday, Usman Umar, a senior
police officer, and Precious Owolabi, a Channels Television reporter, lost
their lives when the Shi’ites staged a protest in Abuja. The group also lost
some of its members while many of them were arrested.
The IMN members have been asking
the government to release Ibraheem el-Zakzaky, their leader, and Zeenatu, his
wife, who have both been in custody since 2015.
They were arrested after Shi’ites
and soldiers clashed in Zaria, Kaduna state.
Nkeonye Maha, a judge, reportedly
declared that the activities of the Shi’ites in any part of the country are
acts of “terrorism.”
Maha ordered the AGF to publish
the court order in the official gazette and two newspapers in order to complete
the process of banning the group.
The newspaper said although, the
group was the only respondent to the motion, it was not represented in court on
Friday because it was an ex parte application.
The development comes two years
after the federal government labelled the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) a
terrorist group. A court had also declared IPOB a terrorist group before the
government of President Muhammadu Buhari banned it.
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