Iran Press/Africa: Police in the Nigerian capital Abuja have opened fire with live ammunition at a peaceful procession of Shia Muslims marking the annual 40th day anniversary of Ashura and protested the continued detention of their leader, Sheik Ibrahim El-Zakzaky.
The marchers were fired on as they started the march after Friday prayers at one of the city’s main mosques, Islamic Human Right Commission said on its website.
Police are reported to have fired in the air but one participant was hit with a tear gas canister aimed directly at the procession.
Police attack comes amid raised fears that the authorities in Nigeria are planning to launch a wide-scale massacre of Shia followers of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria during upcoming religious observances, most of which are scheduled for today.
Sheikh Zakzaki and his wife were arrested on December 13, 2015, in a Nigerian military attack on a Husseiniyah in Zaria. Hundreds of Nigerian Shiites were also killed in the attack.
In recent months, as Zakahi's health has deteriorated in prison, human rights organizations have repeatedly called for the release of Nigeria's Shiite leader.
Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaki and his wife were sent to India for treatment, but in the Indian hospital, his treatment process was hampered.
On August 16, 2019, Sheikh Zakzaky returned to Nigeria without receiving any medical service in India.
Following Sheikh Zakzaky’s return to Nigeria, the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) also in a statement revealed a plot by the Nigerian Government to kill the Shiite Leader of the Islamic Movement at the Medanta Hospital in New Delhi, India. 101/216
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