Police and Shiite members clash in Kaduna State, leaving Three people injured

 Today, a clash between men of the Kaduna Police Command and members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria in Kaduna left at least three people injured.

Eye witness reports says the incident occurred when the police attempted to disperse members of the Islamic Movement In Nigeria, who were protesting and demanding the release of their leader, Shiekh Ibraheem El Zakzaky.  

The “Free El-Zakzaky Protesters” blocked the popular Ahmadu Bello Way/Kano Road in the Kaduna state capital on Sunday evening, prompting the police to disperse them.  The police and the spokesperson of the Shiites, however, disagreed on the outcome of the ensuing clash.

Media Officer for the IMN, Ibrahim Musa, said in a statement that one person was killed and three others injured, but the Spokesperson of the Kaduna Police Command, ASP Mukhtar Aliyu, told Channels Television that only three persons, including a policeman, sustained minor injuries.

According to Aliyu, the police were drafted to disperse the protesters and in the course of doing that, there was an altercation and two civilians and one policeman were injured.  He said the protest by members of the Islamic Movement was a gross violation of the ban placed on street protests by the Kaduna State government, adding that the situation has been brought under control and normalcy returned to the state capital.  

Shiites members have held series of protests in parts of the North, demanding the release of their leader. “The Free El-Zakzaky procession was carried out in major towns in Northern Nigeria to press for the release of Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky because of the news of his deteriorating state of health,” the IMN spokesperson said.