By Luminous Jannamike
ABUJA – Members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, also known as Shi’ites, have accused the Nigerian Police Force of denying detainees access to lawyers and family members, following the arrest of scores of people during the Abuja Arba’een Trek.
Sheikh Rabiu Abdullahi, briefing journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, alleged that the police have refused to grant access to their members who were detained during the trek, sparking concerns about human rights violations.
He claimed that the police attacked a private primary school around Airport Road on Monday, destroying properties and arresting innocent people.
Additionally, they condemned the police for attacking the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, FCT Abuja, on August 27, where patients were arrested and detained.
The group recalled a similar incident in 2019 where patients, including one Ja’afar Muhammad, were arrested and later died in police custody.
They have also filed a contempt of court suit against the Inspector General of Police for refusing to pay a fine of N100 million awarded by the Federal High Court, Abuja, for the unlawful detention and killing of Ja’afar Muhammad in 2019.
The Shi’ites further dismissed claims by the police that they are a proscribed organization, stating that they are a religious movement that cannot be banned.
They called on relevant authorities to intervene and release their members unconditionally, and to stop further 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.”
