Shi’ites protest El-Zakzaky detention, say ‘blood will triumph over bullets’

To condemn the continued detention of its leader, Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), on Monday, held a massive free El-Zakzaky protest which shut down parts of the Federal Capital Territory for several hours.

Members of IMN, also known as Shi’ites, did this in commemoration of reiterated the 2019 matyrs’ day, celebrated by the group in Abuja.

The Shi’ites also restated their resolve to secure the release of Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, the sect’s leader who has been under detention since 2015; saying blood will triumph over bullets.

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El-Zakzaky, who has been in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) since December 2015, is facing trial over allegations of culpable homicide, unlawful assembly, and disruption of public peace, among others.

Speaking at the ceremony, Sheikh Abdulhamid Bello, the Head of IMN’s Shuhada (Martyrs) Foundation, said, “We are here to peacefully honour our brethren who have been killed over the years because of their spiritual inclinations as we have consistently done.

“However, this year’s event, which in the 28th in the series, is coming against a backdrop of an astronomical increase in the number of our departed heroes, especially with an increase of over 50 members (allegedly) killed by the elite Guards Brigade of the Nigerian Army during the 2018 Arbaeen Trek in Zuba. We strongly believe that blood will inevitably triumph over bullets at the end.”

Other prominent Islamic scholars at present include: Sheikh Yakubu Yahaya Katsina, Sheikh Abdullahi Zango and Professor Abdullahi Danladi among others.

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