No more Shi’ite/police clashes

At least nine persons including a policeman were killed on Monday last week during a clash between police and members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), otherwise called Shi’ites. The clash occurred at Kwanar Dawaki on the outskirts of Kano when police attempted to stop the Shi’ites from embarking on their annual trekking from […]

At least nine persons including a policeman were killed on Monday last week during a clash between police and members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), otherwise called Shi’ites. The clash occurred at Kwanar Dawaki on the outskirts of Kano when police attempted to stop the Shi’ites from embarking on their annual trekking from Kano to Zaria, called Arba’een walk. While Kano State Police Commissioner Rabi’u Yusuf said a police sergeant and eight Shi’ites died, IMN’s spokesman Ibrahim Musa said more than 100 of its members lost their lives in the clash. It will be recalled that a suicide bomber attacked a similar procession by the Shiites last year, killing scores of people.
Police commissioner Rabi’u Yusuf said thousands of Shi’ites converged at Kwanar Dawaki and obstructed motorists, attacked innocent citizens and also damaged public and personal property. This, he said, compelled them to mobilize a combined team of Police Mobile Force, Counter Terrorism Unit and the Special Anti-Robbery Squad to the scene to restore law and order. He said the Shi’ites were armed with bows and arrows, cutlasses, catapults with metal bolts and other dangerous weapons with which they attacked the police.
CP Yusuf also said the Shi’ites snatched an AK47 rifle from a policeman and used it against the police. He said the rifle was later recovered. The CP further said ten Shi’ites were arrested and would be charged to court as soon as the police complete investigations.  Inspector-General of Police Idris Ibrahim later said in Abuja that his men responded the way they did because IMN members were armed to the teeth. IMN’s leader in Kano Malam Sanusi Abdulkadir Koki however said his members did not carry any weapons. Koki did say that he could not rule out the possibility that his members had catapults which “by the definition of law, is not a weapon.”
While IMN members have the constitutional right to freely perform religious rites and engage in religious festivals or celebrations, they must not infringe on the rights of other citizens while doing so. The group’s failure to respect the law and appreciate where their rights end and other people’s rights begin is responsible for most of the clashes between them and security forces. Besides trampling upon the rights of others, the foremost bane of the Shi’ites is their defiance of law.  It would be recalled that the closure of a road to other road users in Zaria in December 2016, including the Chief of Army Staff led to a bloody clash that left over 300 of its members dead. IMN’s leader Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky has since then been held in detention.
Considering the high casualties suffered in almost all the previous clashes of the group with security agencies, it is time for IMN to reform the way its members claim their right to freedom of religion. Every constitutional right and freedom comes with responsibilities. Heavy losses of lives on a regular basis should not be the pride of any nation or group and should not be the yardstick of religious fervour. On the other hand, our security agencies must learn to minimise losses of lives despite all provocation. It is very disturbing that, lawless though the Shiites are, nearly every procession of theirs is characterized by loss of lives, especially since they generally do not bear firearms. We must urgently reform our law enforcement methods.
This Kano episode should be the last time that such a thing should happen. We urge IMN to sit down with the authorities and agree on the dos and don’ts of their frequent processions, unless they truly seek to be a state within a state. Human life is sacred and must not be squandered for trivial reasons of ego and making a point. IMN’s methods have already attracted deep hostility from the larger Muslim community. They must change their methods.