Updated: February 28, 2021
Many people were feared dead on Monday in the Nigerian capital Abuja after troops opened fire on Shiite protesters.
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The Islamic Movement in Nigeria had embarked on a peaceful procession from the Mararaba Axis of Nasarawa State, which shares a border with the the Federal Capital Territory, when they were met with force in Abuja.
They were dispersed by the Nigerian Police and Army with gunshots.
Several eye witness accounts said there has been multiple casualties but TODAY NEWS AFRICA cannot ascertain the number of persons wounded or killed.
The procession began after a rumor began circulating that their detained leader Ibraheem El-Zakzaky had died in prison.
Why it matters: President Muhammadu Buhari, a Sunni-Islam Muslim, has been accused of waging a war against the Shiites with the help of Saudi Arabia, a Sunni nation at war with Iran, a Shiite country. The Shiites in Nigeria have been peacefully protesting the illegal detention of their leader El-Zakzaky arrested in 2015 when the army killed almost 400 of his followers.
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The army back then claimed the Shiites had attempted to assassinate the Nigerian Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai, but Amnesty International in a report, said the Army used excessive force and killed close to 400 people.
Till date, no one has been prosecuted.
Zakzaky in detention despite court orders
Several court orders to free the Shiite leader have been disobeyed by the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
This breaking news would be updated.
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