SOME local residents in the city of Zaria where the Nigerian Army and the Shiite Islamic Movement of Nigeria recently clashed have asked the federal government to ban the sect from operating.
Although generally peaceful, the Shiite sect commands a lot of influence in Zaria and has repeatedly clashed with the authorities in the city. During the most recent altercation, the sect prevented the chief of army staff Lt General Tukur Buratai from passing along a road in the city, prompting his military escort to open fire, killing dozens of them.
Following the bloody incident, soldiers arrested the sect's leader Sheik Ibraheem El-Zakzaky and several of its leading members. They now face being charged with public disorder offences including obstruction of highways, possession of weapons and attacking security agents.
Citing alleged hardship caused them by members of the sect over the last 20 years, the Zaria residents said they have had enough. A local spokesperson Alhaji Idris Mohammed Baba, said the Shiite sect routinely holds people in Zaria and Sabon Gari Local Government Areas of the state hostage and tends to run a parallel government in the country.
Alhaji Baba said: My experience with Shiite followers is disastrous and terrible. At a point Shi’ite boys threatened to kill me and we are happy over the military action against Shi’ite movement in Zaria because we have fresh air now blowing in our areas.
“As a community, we wrote letters to the government about the activities of Shi’ites but no single action was taken. We no longer report Shi’ites to police because they will never honour police or security invitation."
He added that the Shiites are an authority unto themselves as they do not respect the authorities and the security agencies. According to Alhaji Baba, last May, the sect declared 24 youths persona non grata for challenging their activities in Gyellesu community where Sheikh El-Zakzaky resides.
“We are Muslims but we discovered that Shi’ites activities are contrary to Islam. They carry dangerous weapons and openly molest innocent people in our areas, so human rights groups should also look into our pains by the sect members," Alhaji Baba added.
Another resident, Alhaji Saidu Garba, said the activities of the sect have crippled the once booming economy of the area. He added: “El-Zakzaky was released from detention in 1999 and he came and settled in Gyellesu but since then there is no peace in our area, so we thank Allah for touching the heart of government and the military for liberating us from Shi’ites untold hardship.”
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