The Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) says the army cannot face its
\nmembers if they have weapons.<\/p>\n
The group made the comment on Monday during a press conference on the
\nrecent clash between soldiers and its members in Abuja.<\/p>\n
Abdullahi Zango, leader of the group, said the statement issued by the
\nmilitary and police over the killing of Shi\u2019ites were \u201cfabricated lies
\ncooked up to cover their atrocities\u201d.<\/p>\n
He accused the soldiers of attacking defenceless protesters.<\/p>\n
Zango said: \u201cThey continue to say that we are armed, this is a blatant
\nlie. If we are armed, Nigeria army cannot face us.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we have weapons with us, Nigeria army is too small to face us. With
\nour courage and brevity, with empty hands, they are running away from us
\ntalk less of when we have arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey know that we are not armed because they are cowards.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zango also accused the police of planting persons with arms among the
\nShi\u2019ites in a bid to incriminate the group.<\/p>\n
He said the movement has paid N8 million as hospital bills for 106
\nShi\u2019ites who are receiving treatment at various hospitals in Abuja.<\/p>\n
He noted that an additional N25 million will be needed to cater for other
\ncasualties who are still recuperating.<\/p>\n
He said the total number of persons killed by the security agents is now 47.<\/p>\n
Zango added that the group does not regret throwing stones at the security
\nagents during the clash, saying it is the only weapon of the defenceless.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cThe situation of throwing stones at them, yes it is the weapon
\nof somebody who is not armed.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Nigerian army has been criticised over the handling of the altercation
\nby its troops.<\/p>\n
The killing of Shi\u2019ites has been condemned by many Nigerians and rights
\ngroups, including Amnesty International, which accused the soldiers of
\n\u201cfiring live ammunition to disperse a peaceful gathering without warning\u201d.<\/p>\n
The defence headquarters recently issued a fresh warning to the Shi\u2019ites,
\nsaying \u201cwe don\u2019t have rubber bullets when we are sent on assignments\u201c.<\/p>\n
Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, leader of the IMN, has been in the custody of the
\nDepartment of State Services (DSS) since December 2015.<\/p>\n
The Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) says the army cannot face its members if they have weapons. The group made the comment on Monday during a press conference on the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":64329,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n