AhlulBayt News Agency: According to the statement, several peaceful religious events organised by the Islamic Movement in Nigeria under the leadership of Sheikh Zakzaky, including the Annual Conference on the 2015 Zaria Massacre and the Nisfu Sha’aban programme for the celebration of Maulud of Imam Mahdi, were reportedly disrupted by security forces.
The movement in Southwest Nigeria has strongly condemned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's administration over the killing of 26 pro-Palestine protesters and the continued detention of 274 others, including minors and critically ill individuals, during the 2025 International Quds Day procession in Abuja.
During a press conference on Tuesday, April 9, 2025, Miftahu Zakariya, the South West Coordinator of the Islamic Movement, accused security agents under Tinubu's regime of launching unprovoked attacks against peaceful members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), led by Ibraheem Zakzaky.
“We condemn the disruption of Islamic activities and persecution of the Islamic movement’s adherents in Abuja,” Zakariya declared.
According to the statement, several peaceful religious events organised by the group, including the Annual Conference on the 2015 Zaria Massacre and the Nisfu Sha’aban programme for the celebration of Maulud of Imam Mahdi, were reportedly disrupted by security forces.
But the brutal crackdown on the Quds Day procession drew the harshest condemnation.
"Security agents, particularly the Guards Brigade, unprovokedly attacked the 2025 Abuja International Quds Day held at Usman Bin Affan Mosque along Aminu Kano Crescent, Abuja, on the last Friday of Ramadan, 28 March 2025. During the attack, the Army killed 26 protesters and arrested 274, including 60 minors," Zakariya revealed.
He further alleged that 11 of the arrested individuals are critically ill and still in detention.
“Up to this moment, the police refused to release both the detained protesters and the corpses of those killed by the Army,” he added.
Zakariya also cited reports indicating a covert security plan to raid communities where followers of the Islamic movement reside.
“Media reports exposed the security agents’ plan to attack places and communities where the adherents of the Islamic movement are residing,” he said.
Tragically, the group also confirmed the death of a detained protester under questionable circumstances. “The names of those that recently passed away include Shaheed Huzaifa Muhammad, from Tudun Iya, Katsina State, who attained martyrdom on Monday, 7 April, 2025, around 6pm in SARS Abattoir, Guzape, Abuja,” Zakariya stated.
The group emphasised that their annual Quds Day activities, part of a global show of solidarity with the Palestinian people initiated in 1979 by Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini, were held peacefully in 17 Nigerian states, including Lagos, Kano, and Sokoto, without incident.
“Being a Muslim or supporter of the people of Palestine can never be a crime within Nigeria and across the globe,” Zakariya said.
“In fact, before now the international community was fully aware that the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration is a supporter of Palestine.”
He referenced a statement by Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, who, while speaking with Al Jazeera in March 2025, reportedly said: “Israel must stop its war on Gaza, and the world needs to drop its double standards over the killings in the besieged enclave.”
The IMN had earlier accused Nigerian security forces of refusing to release the corpses of 26 of its members killed during a pro-Palestine protest in Abuja.
The popular Movement also accused the police of detaining 274 of members arrested during their recent public demonstrations, including 60 minors and 11 critically ill patients.
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