Members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) returned to the streets of Abuja, to demand the release of their leader, Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky.
During the procession, spokesperson for the Academic Forum of the group, Abdullahi Musa, said they are more resolved than ever, to continue the protest until their leader is granted freedom.
“This protest is a peaceful protest and it has been peaceful for long, for almost four years.
“It only went violent when the authorities caused the violence. They are the violators, they are the people that shoot teargas. They are the people that shoot live ammunition to kill us, they are the people that vandalised people’s vehicles and properties in Abuja, in order to justify what they did,” he alleged to a Lagos-based national television station, in Abuja, yesterday.
This time, the Shiites took the protest to the offices of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Public Complaint Commission, both of which share the same fence in Abuja.
Musa insisted that no amount of intimidation would deter them from protesting, following a demonstration at the National Assembly which turned violent.
He said: “We are always coming out to call for the freedom of our leader and we want him freed. There is no amount of killing that will stop up from protesting in Abuja.
“Allow him (ElZakzaky) go; he has committed no offence, he has every right to practice his religion the way he understands it.”
While the protest was ongoing in Abuja, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and rights activist, Femi Falana, cautioned the Federal Government against the continued detention of El-Zakzaky.
In a statement, he warned that the country may be heading for another insurgency war, should the Shi’ites’ leader die in detention.
Falana insisted Nigeria cannot afford another insurgency war, especially at a time when it is battling banditry and other forms of crimes.