The Islamic Movement in Nigeria (aka Shi’ites) has accused the Muhammadu Buhari administration of plotting to use the “false flag terror operation system” to tarnish its image.
A statement on Wednesday by the president of its media forum, Ibrahim Musa, accused the federal government of spreading “some sinister leaflets through a faceless group, claiming to be part of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria and fighting for the release of our illegally incarcerated leader, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky.”
This, it said, was a continuation of the government’s plot to annihilate the Movement, which it said was kick-started during the Zaria massacre by the Nigerian Army in December, 2015.
It said, however, that the use of terror tactics had never been the Movement’s modus operandi, evidenced in its peaceful campaigns – and would not change now.
“It has become absolutely necessary to state in unequivocal terms once again that use of terror tactics is simply not our modus operandi, and has never been, as evidenced by our incessant peaceful campaigns, even in the face of state provocations in the last five years. This is not about to change,” it said.
It said spreading such leaflets through the “faceless group” is a mark of government’s desperation to tarnish the image of the Islamic Movement.
IMN said it had evidence that the faceless group plans to use its yearly Quds Day peaceful processions as spring board for their nefarious activities.
The statement reads: “We find it necessary to reiterate our earlier stand that Sheikh Zakzaky in his over forty years sojourn as the leader of the Islamic Movement has never considered terror as a means of achieving the aims and goals of the Islamic Movement.
“He believes in using peaceful means and practices, same in all his religious activities. Our upcoming Quds day rallies and processions is a global event to be observed in several cities across the world, and it has never been a day of using violence to make the public understand the persecution and apartheid system practised by the Zionists regime in Israel on Palestine.
“Let’s not forget that this isn’t the first time that the government would be attempting to use false flag operations in an attempt at falsely and unjustifiably linking the Movement to terrorism. In the aftermath of Zaria massacre, the army and its paid clerics trumpeted that ‘the Islamic Movement is worse than Boko Haram’ in order to justify the massacre.
“However, the public hasn’t swallowed such shallow propaganda, such that even the USA believes our leader Sheikh Zakzaky is a political prisoner and the Islamic Movement is a victim of persecution by Buhari regime.
“So, you can count us out of any diabolic and gruesome terror attack that agents of government may carry out in our name. They are still trying to bury their crimes against humanity under the carpet having failed woefully to frame the Movement in various court actions.”
It called well-meaning Nigerians and the international community to prevail on the Nigerian government to release its leader, Sheikh Zakzaky, his wife and others in detention since December, 2015.