Some members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), otherwise known as Shiites, took their struggle for the release of their detained leader, Sheik Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, to Lagos yesterday. The Shiites hit some streets in Lagos in protest, demanding that the Federal Government immediately release El-Zakzaky.
The Lagos protest came barely two days after the IMN members clashed with security personnel at the National Assembly in Abuja while protesting against the continued detention of their leader.
The protesters walked from Maryland area of Lagos to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) office in Ikeja, carrying placards with various inscriptions and pictures of El-Zakzaky and chanting songs of freedom. They stopped by at the Falana and Falana Chambers, the office of the human rights activist and lawyer, Femi Falana, where they were received by his wife, Funmi.
Comprising Islamic women who covered their bodies with black hijab from head to toe, nursing mothers with babies on their backs, pregnant women, children, men and members of human rights organisations, the protesters warned of a looming crisis if the Shiites leader or his co-detained wife is allowed to die in custody. Read more