By Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
Several thousands of members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), popularly known as Shiites, today rocked Kaduna, the Northern political capital, with a protest in support of late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khameinei.
Khameinei was among over 40 Iranian military, clerical and political leaders killed by US/Israeli airstrikes at the commencement of the war with Iran on 28 February this year.
So far, the war has claimed over 1000 Iranian lives, including school children, and seven US soldiers with heavy infrastructural losses in Israel, Iran and several Middle East nations considered as America’s allies.
Khameinei is seen as the world leader of the Shiites and is now viewed as a martyr in global Shiite-dom.
As the massive mass of Shiites hit the road in Kaduna, vehicular movement, business and commercial activities were paralyzed, especially around Kaduna Central Market axis, where the protest was witnessed about 2pm and 3pm, the peak time of Muslim Friday jumaat worship.
In the process, the usual Kano Road/Ahmadu Bello Way street prayer session was affected as the protesters stormed the area, about 2:30pm.
Dressed in their usual black-and-black attires, the phalanx of protesters,comprising mainly women and children, was a sight to behold.
Apparently fearing a possible breakdown of law and order, most shop owners in the areas visited hurriedly shut their commercial facilities.
A source told People&Politics that the procession was the usual practice by Shiites to mark the last Friday of the Muslim Ramadan fast.
The protesters occupied an entire lane of Ahmed Bello Way, chanting songs.
They displayed different banners bearing Islamic inscriptions, portrait and pictures of the late Khameinei, his son and successor, Mojtaba Khameinei, and Nigeria Shiite leader, Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky.
The protesters were, however, accompanied by heavily armed security personnel including the military, police and security operatives to ensure a hitch-free protest.
The Shiites took Ahmadu Bello Way through Katsina Road roundabout, and processed on towards Central Market, causing severe traffic hold-up.
At Central Market, they later crossed Ahmadu Bello Way and headed towards Ibrahim Taiwo Road, turned to Lagos Street, where they finally joined Kano Road and proceeded towards Tudun Wada axis, where the Shiite office is located.
Our correspondent who monitored the protest, reports that the protesters had a stopover at Kano Road by Buwari Street junction where they also chanted songs and displayed their flags for a few minutes, sparking visible scare among bystanders and vehicular obstruction too, before they finally moved on to Kano Road.
The Shiites have had a number of run-ins with the Nigerian authorities over the years.
A well-recorded incident occurred 12 December, 2015 during the Muhammadu Buhari presidency, in Zaria, same Kaduna State, in which the military carried out a massacre against the group.
Among those killed were sons of El-Zakzaky.
Wikipedia records that “at least 1000 civilians were killed, with 347 bodies secretly buried by the Army in a mass grave.
“The Army claimed that it had responded to an attempt to assassinate Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, by the IMN. This claim has been strongly rejected by the IMN and several human rights organizations who argue that the massacre occurred without any provocation and that all the protestors were unarmed.
“The incident is considered among the ‘notable human rights violations since the return to democracy’ in Nigeria.”
*PHOTO CAPTION: A cross section of the Shiites protesting …today.
