Shi’ite members protesting
The Nigerian Army on Monday night admitted its personnel fired live
ammunition at Shiite protesters on the outskirts of Abuja on Monday
afternoon, killing at least three protesters who allegedly tried to
breach a security checkpoint.
The violence that broke out in Karu, a densely populated suburb of
the nation’s capital, gripped Abuja and its environs on Monday
afternoon, with vehicular and human movements in and out of the axis
virtually grounded for the rest of the day.
According to PREMIUM TIMES, two witnesses who live in the area and
spoke under strict anonymity for fear of security agencies’ backlash
estimated between 16 and 22 people were killed. Most of those killed
were Shiite protesters, while the rest were passersby or elderly caught
in the mayhem while out on their individual businesses.
It was the second time Nigerian soldiers encountered Shiite
protesters in two days. Nigerian soldiers opened fire during a Shiite
procession in Zuba, another suburb of Abuja, on Saturday afternoon. The
military denied being the aggressor in the violence, which witnesses
said left many protesters dead. In that incident, the army also admitted
three Shiites were killed.
The army said its personnel conveying military equipment were
waylaid by the Shiites in the Saturday encounter, during which some
soldiers were brutalised with stones and sharp objects. No soldier was
killed during the encounter.
In a Facebook post at about 10:40 p.m. on Monday, the army
explained similar circumstances played out in the violent encounter with
Shiites earlier in the day. The statement said soldiers unleashed their
firearms on the protesters after they became violent and started
shooting stones with catapult, wounding four soldiers in the process.
The army said the protesters repeatedly lobbed Molotov cocktails at
troops and police officers manning the security checkpoint near the
overhead bridge in Karu, and uploaded pictures of wounded soldiers,
catapults, stones and Dane guns allegedly recovered from the protesters.
“The sect in massive numbers forced their way into the troops
checkpoint after overrunning the Police Force. The Police withdrew back
to own troops position to join efforts to repel them.
“They fired weapons at own troops, throwing bottle canisters
with fuel, large stones, catapults with dangerous objects and other
dangerous items at troops causing bodily harm and stopping motorist
movement, breaking their windscreen and causing heavy traffic,” the army
said of the incident, which it estimated broke out at 3:00 p.m.
“However, Troops repelled the attack in conjunction with the
Nigerian Police Force to stop the situation from further deteriorating.
“Unfortunately, during the encounter 3 members of the sect were
killed while 4 soldiers sustained various degrees of injuries and are
being treated at a military medical facility,” the army said.
The statement said calm has returned to the area and vehicular and
human traffic no more hectic as of the time of its statement late
Monday.