Shiites Protesters Storm Abuja, Litter Graffiti on Government Buildings

Members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) commonly known as the Shiites on Thursday marched in Abuja streets to protest against the continued detention of their spiritual leader, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, by the Department of State Security (DSS).

The sign of their protest were the visible graffiti they left on public buildings in the Central Business District.

Members of the Islamist sect processed through the Eagle Square and the Federal Secretariat, singing protest songs in Arabic and Hausa languages.

The procession, the second time they would gather this week, alerted many armed policemen who arrived at the scene in many trucks. But the protesters remained defiant in spite of the large police presence.

In October, some of the Shiites followers were killed by the military in many parts of Abuja, after violence characterised the observance of the Ashura religious gathering by the Shiites faithful in the federal capital.

Yesterday many public institutions at the Federal Secretariat were defaced with graffiti by the protesters.

Some of the inscriptions asked government to free El Zakzaky. A writing of particular interest was conspicuously pasted at the Tafawa Balewa House-the Ministry of Foreign Affairs-accusing President Muhammadu Buhari of crime.

The spokesman of the sect, Abdulahi Mohammed Musa, insisted they would remain undeterred in fighting for their religious course.

Musa accused the federal government of heinous crime against the Shiites, who lost hundreds of adherents, when they clashed with the army in Zaria between December 12 and 14, 2015.

"In the history of Africa, that crime remains the worst against humanity. More than 1,000 Shiite followers were killed while some were buried alive. They killed a 78-year-old woman, Hajia Fatima, who was locked in a room and set alight because she was a follower of El Zakzaky. This is a gross crime against humanity, but it won’t dampen our spirit,” Musa said.