Members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, popularly known as Shiites, have vowed to match to Abuja to demand for the unconditional release of their leader, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zzzaky, from the custody of security agents.
The protesting Shi’ites said they were determined to take their protest to the highest echelon of power since their persistent calls had yet to reach fruition adding that it was a result of gross insensitivity to the predicament of their leader by the president that culminated in El-Zazzaky’s continued detention.
Our correspondent, who witnessed how the pro-El-Zazzaky rally was conducted by tens of thousands of Shi’ite faithful in Kano, reports that they were also remembering the demise of those they touted as martyrs who had lost their lives during their deadly encounter with the Army in Zaria.
Many were seen by our correspondent carrying placards with various anti- Buhari’s inscription and the portraits of those considered to have departed to the great beyond as martyrs traversing some of the major streets of Kano.
They said their struggle was endless in as much as their spiritual kingpin remain in the gulag of security operatives, stressing that death was the supreme price a martyr was expected to pay in the heat of any confrontation.
The protesters comprising men, women and children in black attires, however, stated that they were on the streets to express their anti-government backlash on account of the perpetual detention of their leader.
A Shi’ite, Sheikh Dauda Danbuda, told our correspondent that staging the rally had come at a time when the federal government was not willing to listen to their clamour lamenting that their leader was only traumatised for his uncompromising ideological posture.
He stressed that even the international community was against the brutal and callous treatment meted out to their members in Zaria, expressing optimism that with the outside world knowing what had happened the savage treatment would not go unpunished.
