The Islamic Movement in Nigeria, also known as Shiites, and the Kaduna State Police Command have both reacted to the claim that four persons died and 20 were injured during a procession to mark the International Qud’s day in Kaduna on Friday.
Quds day is celebrated annually by the Islamic Movement in Nigeria on the last Friday of the month of Ramadan.
The day is meant to draw the attention of the world to the people of Palestine.
At the rally in Kaduna, operatives of the Kaduna State Police Command were reported to have attempted to disperse the protesters.
Gunshots were said to have been fired on Kano Road.
The spokesman of the Kaduna State Police Command, Mansir Hasan, told newsmen that three operatives were injured and taken to the hospital for treatment.
Hassan, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, said it was not true that the police killed members of the IMN as no live ammunition was used during the incident.
One of the Shiite leaders, Malam Aliyu Tirmizi, said four of their members were killed while 20 others were injured.
Tirmizi said: “We usually come out on the last Friday of every Ramadan to protest peacefully and show our support to the people of Palestine for the inhuman treatment they are being forced to face as is being done by others across the globe.
“We usually have a peaceful procession, but this time around, as we were about to start, the police came and threw tear gas at us and started shouting and in the process, four of our members were killed while 20 were injured.”
Another top member of the IMN, Prof. Dauda Nalado, said the Quds day is celebrated annually during the month of Ramadan.
Nalado said: “The great global leader of the Islamic Revolution, Imaam Ruhullah Al-Musawi Al-Khomeini, invited Muslims and non-Muslims with humanity at heart to show solidarity with the innocent and oppressed people of Palestine and against the brutality of the usurper, apartheid, and the illegal state of Israel.
“The imam declared the last Friday of each Ramadan as the International Quds Day.
“Since 1980, the Quds in Britain, France, Sweden, America, Germany, Canada, Australia, and numerous countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, etc have been observing it.
“The Islamic movement, under the leadership of his Eminence, Sayyid Dr. Ibraheem Ya’qoub El-Zakzaky (H), has been observing this event for decades in Nigeria.
“In fact, one of the reasons of the Zaria massacre executed by the Buhari regime in 2015 was to kill Sayyid Ibraheem El-Zakzaky and crush this noble movement for justice, all due to the staunch support for the Palestinian course.
“Hitherto, the public could recall that on 25 July, 2014 Nigerian soldiers attacked the Quds Day procession in support of Palestine in Zaria, resulting in the assassination of 34 people, including three biological children of this great African leader.
“For six months now, the Zionist State has killed almost 33,000 Palestinians and wounded almost 80,000, of whom more than half are women and children.
“They have destroyed buildings and turned Gaza City into rubble.
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“They have violated all international human rights rules and committed war crimes with impunity.
“It is pertinent to remind us that since the illegal state was carved out in 1948, the Palestinians have been subjugated and subjected to oppressive rule, controlling and humiliating every aspect of their daily lives.
“This current brutality by the Zionists was launched after a retaliative ‘Aqsa storm operation’ by the Palestinians on 7th October, 2023.
“These developments signal the final blow to Zionism.”