Serious Tension In Abuja As Shiites Protesters Set Ablaze US, Israeli National Flags [Photos]

Serious Tension In Abuja As Shiites Protesters Set Ablaze US, Israeli National Flags [Photos]

There was tension in Abuja yesterday, as members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) a.k.a Shiites on Friday burnt the national flags of the United States of America (USA) and Isreal to protest the killings of their muslim brotherhood in Palestine.

It was gathered that the protest which kicked off at the National Mosque immediately after the Jumaa’t prayer, was terminated at the Julius Berger roundabout where armed policemen took strategic positions to forestall possible breakdown of law and order.

The angry protesters were chanting anti government songs: ‘Down To America’ ; ‘Free Palestine’ ; ‘Free Free Zakzaky’.

The Shiites mob later converged under the bridge displaying the flags of the two countries and set them ablaze under the watch of the senior Islamic cleric of the movement. Human and vehicular movement were disrupted leading to heavy traffic gridlock along popular wuse market . The police watched as the group carrieed out the burning .In recent times, the muslim sect had protested the continuous detention of their spiritual leader, Sheik Ibraheem El-Zakzaky who has been in the custody since December 2015. The group have severally clashed with the Nigerian police leading to the death and arrest of their members.

It was reported that the Police fired tear gas at Shi’ite Muslim protesters in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, during a second day of clashes with demonstrators who are demanding the release of their religious leader.

Scores of protesters were arrested by armed police, according to Deji Adeyanju of Concerned Nigerians, a civil society organization that is participating in the protests. “The more they attack, the more [we] come out,” Adeyanju said.

Zakzaky, the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), has been in government custody since troops and his supporters clashed in the city of Zaria in December 2015. He remains in jail despite court orders that he be released. The IMN and the government have been in conflict for years as the IMN seeks to encourage a revolution in northern Nigeria, where Sunni Muslims are the majority.