A clash erupted between the Nigeria Police Force and the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) following a violent confrontation in Abuja on Sunday, August 25, 2024, which left multiple people dead, including two police officers. The clash, which occurred during a Shi’ite procession, resulted in the arrest of 97 members of the IMN.
According to a statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, the Nigeria Police Force condemned the attack, which it described as unprovoked, by members of the proscribed Shi’ite group. The statement indicated that two police officers lost their lives and three others were critically injured during the incident. Adejobi also revealed that police vehicles were destroyed in the attack.
Adejobi said that the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, had ordered a full-scale investigation to identify and arrest the sponsors and individuals responsible for the deaths.
He said, “The Nigeria Police Force has condemned, vehemently, an unprovoked attack by members of the proscribed Islamic Movement of Nigeria, commonly known as the Shi’ite group, on police personnel in Abuja on August 25, 2024.
“In line with the directive of the Inspector-General of Police, the progressive efforts of police operatives have led to the arrest of 97 suspects and the recovery of several weapons used in the attack.
“The IGP has also reaffirmed the unalloyed zeal of the Force to arrest other involved persons and bring the killers to justice, emphasising his commitment to maintaining law and order and resisting all sorts of anarchy and unrest in any part of the country.
“The unprovoked killings of police officers in the line of duty are highly outrageous and unacceptable as those who murdered these policemen have murdered peace.”
In a contrasting statement, the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, Professor Isah-Hassan Mshelgaru, denied any involvement in the death of the police officers.
Mshelgaru distanced his group from the allegations, asserting that the police were trying to shift the blame to tarnish the IMN’s reputation.
He claimed that the procession, which is a global Shi’ite event, was peaceful in other states such as Kano and Sokoto, and insisted that his group was not responsible for any destruction or loss of life.
“There was no clash with anyone, not even the security operatives in those states. We are not aware of the death of any police officers. If there was any, we are not responsible. We didn’t burn down any property.
“They are doing this to give us a bad name. If they want to arrest innocent people they can go ahead. This is not the first time they will be doing that. “
“We can’t say specifically the number of people arrested by the police. We are still counting. We will release our figures when we are done. We know for a fact that four of our members who were unconscious were arrested, we don’t know their fate. We are, however, demanding the release of our members in police custody; we are not responsible for the purported death of their officers.”
