The Islamic Movement in Nigeria, IMN, also known as the Shi’ites, has accused the Nigerian Police Force of denying their detained members access to legal representation and contact with family members. This follows the arrest of numerous individuals during the Arba’een Trek in Abuja.
Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, Sheikh Rabiu Abdullahi alleged that the police have obstructed efforts to reach those detained, raising serious concerns about potential human rights violations.
He further claimed that on Monday, police officers attacked a private primary school along Airport Road, causing property damage and arresting several innocent individuals.
The IMN also condemned a separate incident on August 27, where police allegedly stormed the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital in Gwagwalada, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), arresting and detaining patients.
The group recalled a similar incident in 2019, where several patients, including one Ja’afar Muhammad, were arrested, leading to Muhammad’s death in police custody.
In addition, the IMN has filed a contempt of court suit against the Inspector General of Police for failing to comply with a Federal High Court ruling in Abuja that awarded N100 million in damages for the unlawful detention and death of Ja’afar Muhammad in 2019.
The group rejected police claims that the IMN is a proscribed organization, asserting their identity as a religious movement that cannot be outlawed.
They are calling on authorities to immediately release their detained members and to cease what they describe as ongoing atrocities against them.
Sheikh Abdullahi said: “We wish to draw the attention of the public, including human rights organisations and relevant authorities, to the ongoing act of violence and lawlessness being carried out by the Nigerian Police Force.
“The police attacked a private primary school around Airport Road; destroyed public and private properties and arrested innocent people around the school. We have reasons to believe that this is an attempt to bury under the carpet the heinous crime they committed.
“Today, Tuesday, August 27, 2024, around 9:00 a.m., verifiable report reaching us revealed that the police attacked the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, FCT Abuja. The public could recall that the police conducted a similar operation in 2019 where they arrested patients in the hospital and detained them at SARS. And eventually, those arrested at the hospital died in police custody, and the police dumped their corpses at Asokoro District Hospital.
“We would also like to draw the attention of the public to the fact that the Police Forces have denied our brothers and sisters, arrested on August 25, 2024, access to their families and lawyers. All the necessary efforts put in place to reach them and learn about their condition have been deliberately frustrated by security agents.
“We would like to condemn, in the strongest terms, this act of terror against our innocent brothers and sisters, whose only fault was exercising their legal rights as enshrined in the Nigerian constitution.
“We would like to make it categorically clear that the Islamic Movement is not an organisation; it is a concept, an ideology, and a philosophy. And therefore, it could not be proscribed.
“We call upon relevant authorities and all well-meaning individuals to call the NPF to order before things get out of control. We demand the unconditional release of all those arrested during the 2024 Abuja Arba’een.”