On Friday, the Federal Government obtained a court order proscribing the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, IMN and equally named it a terrorist organisation. This is after several altercations they have had with the FG and the latest killings if not assassinations that happened in Abuja. On July 9, 2019, IMN members invaded the National Assembly and reportedly shot two policemen and attacked six others with stones and clubs, causing pandemonium at the place and causing the lawmakers having a plenary at the time to close shop. Barely two weeks after, they, again, clashed with the police in Abuja. In the bloody clash, a Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP Usman Umar and six other persons were killed. One of the victims was a Youth Corps member/journalist, Mr. Precious Owolabi, serving with Channels Television.
Also, another Youth Corps member, Suleiman Aliyu, who is serving with an Abuja-based newspaper, was hit by a stray bullet but he was lucky: he is recuperating at the National Hospital in Abuja. The protesters also burnt down the ambulance bay of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, as well as other private and public property. Unofficial sources claimed that over 12 persons were killed in the attack, with at least 36 others seriously injured.
IMN a movement within the Shiite sect, have been carrying out protests in Abuja since the detention of their leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky and his wife in December 2015. The IMN leader was arrested by the Kaduna State government because he led a mob that attempted to kill the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Yusuf Buratai when they blocked his convoy in Zaria, Kaduna State. The murder charge against El-Zakzaky is related to the death of another soldier in the chaos that ensued following the unfortunate blockage of the convoy.
The erroneous impression that leader of IMN is being held against court pronouncements fly in the face of further scrutiny. El-Zakzaky’s trial is ongoing in Kaduna State where the offence he allegedly committed occurred. He has not been granted bail there. The bail hearing will take place today. Unfortunately, although their leader is being tried in Kaduna State, the IMN members have chosen Abuja, the nation’s capital, the centre of their protests over his continued detention, claiming that he and his wife needed urgent medical attention abroad. They also claim that their leader has been granted bail by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja but that government has failed to obey the order. However, what has been very worrisome to many Nigerians is the violent turn the protests have taken causing injury and death of security agents, to its members and innocent passers-by, as well as destruction of public property.
Members of the IMN who felt that the judicial system had been slow in giving justice to their leader have been rightly told by the Federal Government that the situation is beyond its control as it cannot dictate to the judiciary how to carry out its constitutional responsibility of dispensing justice. We wish to remind members of the IMN about Sun Tzu iconic statement that the “wheels of justice grind slow but grind fine. The judicial process is slow, but those who are patient, if they are on the right side of the law, will inevitably prevail in any dispute.
It is worthy of note that for this perceived delay in the administration of justice in the country the Administration of Justice Commission Act – Cap. A 3 L.F.N. 2004 was repealed and replaced by the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015. ACJA 2015 promotes efficient management of criminal justice institutions, speedy dispensation of justice, protection of the society from crimes and protection of the rights and interests of the suspects, the defendants and victims.
Sadly, despite the good intentions of this law, the courts in Nigeria appear to be still overwhelmed by a huge number of cases. Whatever may be the case, there is no justifiable reason for members of the IMN to take the law into their own hands. While we support government’s right and duty to maintain law and order, we equally urge it to do so with the benefit of its experiences in dealing with other religious sects.
We urge the government to be firm but flexible and consider using carrot and stick approach in dealing with the members of the IMN and their leader. However, on no account should the Federal Government allow any individual or group to threaten the security and unity of this country.
The public talk that IMN may as well transform into a Boko Haram for example does not do the group any good. On the contrary it strengthens the strong arms of the government to be decisive in the circumstance.
It is cheap blackmail to suggest that a group can become a terror organistion as a result should not be made to face the law where broken. Government must be seen to be government where groups religious or not take advantage of our legendary impunity to blackmail us into siding with them in the name of “religious freedom”. Religion has not solved any of our problems, rather we have been trying to manage its excesses since Nigeria became.
