Not less than two police officers have been killed with three others unconscious in a violent clash between members of the proscribed Islamic Movement of Nigeria, IMN, popularly known as Shi’ites movement.
The clash which occurred at the Wuse traffic light junction on Sunday morning left three police patrol vehicles set ablaze and several other persons injured.
The Shiites members had taken to the streets on Sunday morning as against the directives of the police that prohibits their unauthorised processession on the streets of Abuja.
To enforce the ban on the proscribed Islamic group, five police officers from the Wuse Division of the Federal Capital Territory Police Command were deployed to maintain law and order in the area.
But the group who saw the police officers as threat to their processession became violent killing two police officers and setting ablaze their operational vehicles.
The FCT Police Command which confirmed the death of the officers said the Shi’ites members attacked the police checkpoint unprovoked, wielding machetes, improvised explosive devices (locally made bombs in bottles with kerosene), and knives.
On Saturday, such attack was averted at the One Man Village area of neighbouring Nasarawa State when soldiers drove into their procession that blocked the Nyanya corridor of the Abuja-Keffi Expressway
Meanwhile, the FCT Police Command said several arrests have been made in connection with the attack and killing of the police officers by the Shi’ites group.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
