Two policemen have been killed and another three injured following an Islamist attack on a police checkpoint at Wuse Junction in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, on Sunday..The attackers, allegedly belonging to the Shi'ite Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), wielded machetes, improvised explosive devices, and knives, according to the nation's Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command..Three police vehicles were set ablaze in the attack, with the three injured officers currently unconscious in hospital, said Police Public Relations Officer Josephine Adeh on Sunday..What You Need to Know.According to the FCT's press release, several arrests have since been made, with Police Commissioner Benneth Igweh condemning the "unprovoked attack on police officers.".According to Igweh, the situation at the Junction is presently under control and "normalcy restored.".The IMN, founded in the 1970s by Ibrahim Zakzaky, a prominent Shi'a religious leader in Nigeria who was allegedly inspired by the 1979 Iranian revolution, seeks to establish an Islamic state in the country favouring the Shia sect of Islam..As such, the group is seen as being pro-Iranian, something which led to the group's banning in the country in 2019..Nigeria holds an estimated 100 million Muslims, with the majority of those adhering to the Sunni branch of Islam. An estimated 5-10 million adhere to Islam's Shia branch, with Ibrahim Zakzaky's lectures oftentimes drawing in thousands of supporters..Jailed in 2015 after a clash–known as the Zaria/Buhari massacre–with Nigerian armed forces at an IMN compound in Zaria, Kaduna state, which resulted in the death of an approximate 350 civilians, Zakzaky was eventually acquitted of his criminal charges ranging from disruption of public peace to aiding and abetting homicide in 2021..Despite the group's ban, protests still occur and the group still operates, specifically on occasions such as Quds day for the Palestinian cause..Most of the groups activities are focused in the capital, Abuja, and northern Nigeria, with Crisis24 reporting in April that in recent years, clashes against security forces have turned increasingly violent..So, What Now?.Rarely undertaking attacks on civilians as opposed to the likes of Boko Haram and ISWAP, the IMN paints itself as a relatively peaceful Shia Islamic movement in the country, although recent attacks on security forces may signal the group's turn to militancy.
Two policemen have been killed and another three injured following an Islamist attack on a police checkpoint at Wuse Junction in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, on Sunday..The attackers, allegedly belonging to the Shi'ite Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), wielded machetes, improvised explosive devices, and knives, according to the nation's Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command..Three police vehicles were set ablaze in the attack, with the three injured officers currently unconscious in hospital, said Police Public Relations Officer Josephine Adeh on Sunday..What You Need to Know.According to the FCT's press release, several arrests have since been made, with Police Commissioner Benneth Igweh condemning the "unprovoked attack on police officers.".According to Igweh, the situation at the Junction is presently under control and "normalcy restored.".The IMN, founded in the 1970s by Ibrahim Zakzaky, a prominent Shi'a religious leader in Nigeria who was allegedly inspired by the 1979 Iranian revolution, seeks to establish an Islamic state in the country favouring the Shia sect of Islam..As such, the group is seen as being pro-Iranian, something which led to the group's banning in the country in 2019..Nigeria holds an estimated 100 million Muslims, with the majority of those adhering to the Sunni branch of Islam. An estimated 5-10 million adhere to Islam's Shia branch, with Ibrahim Zakzaky's lectures oftentimes drawing in thousands of supporters..Jailed in 2015 after a clash–known as the Zaria/Buhari massacre–with Nigerian armed forces at an IMN compound in Zaria, Kaduna state, which resulted in the death of an approximate 350 civilians, Zakzaky was eventually acquitted of his criminal charges ranging from disruption of public peace to aiding and abetting homicide in 2021..Despite the group's ban, protests still occur and the group still operates, specifically on occasions such as Quds day for the Palestinian cause..Most of the groups activities are focused in the capital, Abuja, and northern Nigeria, with Crisis24 reporting in April that in recent years, clashes against security forces have turned increasingly violent..So, What Now?.Rarely undertaking attacks on civilians as opposed to the likes of Boko Haram and ISWAP, the IMN paints itself as a relatively peaceful Shia Islamic movement in the country, although recent attacks on security forces may signal the group's turn to militancy.
