Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) popularly known as Shiites has alleged that four of its members were killed by the police in Kaduna on Friday.

Speaking with reporters after the incident, Aliyu Tirmiziy, one of the leaders of the IMN, said 20 others were also injured.

Tirmiziy said they were protesting to show support for the people of Palestine when the police came to disperse them.

“We usually come out on the last Friday of every Ramadan to protest peacefully and show our support to the people of Palestine for the inhuman treatment they are being forced to face as is being done by others across the globe,” he said.

“We usually have a peaceful procession but this time around, as we were about to start, the police came and threw tear gas at us and started shooting and in the process, four of our members were killed while 20 were injured.”

The incident caused panic among residents of Kaduna, especially traders along the Ahmadu Bello Way who quickly closed their shops and ran to safe areas.

However, Mansir Hassan, spokesperson of the Kaduna police command, said no one was killed, noting that no live ammunition was used to disperse the protesters.

He said three police personnel were injured during the incident and are receiving treatment at a clinic.

“We got the information that the members of the proscribed IMN were going to hold a massive protest in the state and the command deployed its men to most of the strategic places to stop them from blocking the road, especially, Ahmadu Bello Way, Kaduna,” Hassan said.

“On sighting our men, the IMN members started throwing stones, catapults, and locally made guns against our men, which led to three of our men sustaining injuries and are now receiving treatment at a police clinic.”

The police spokesperson said eight suspects have been arrested, adding that three locally fabricated guns, catapults and locally made weapons were recovered.

Hassan challenged the IMN to produce the corpses of those killed.

“If they claimed four of their members were killed, where are the bodies and which hospital were they taken to?” he added.

“How can we identify them? Our men did not use live ammunition but only used teargas to disperse them.”

The Cable