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Shiites group denies being security threat to Nigeria

By Saxone Akhaine, Kaduna
04 May 2017   |   4:23 am
The Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), also called Shiites, has faulted the Federal Government’s statement, which declared them as terrorists and security threat.

expressing concern over the plans to criminalise the IMN, the Shiites said: “We have noted in the last few days the malicious suggestions linking IMN with terrorism and violence in several official quarters.”

The Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), also called Shiites, has faulted the Federal Government’s statement, which declared them as terrorists and security threat.

The Secretary of the IMN Media Forum, Abdulmumuni Giwa, said the movement does not posses the “parameters used in determining organisations that constitute a threat to a nation.”

According to him, the IMN led by Ibraheem El-Zakzaky do not share “intent and capability,” which are some of the features of terrorist organisations that were included in the list.

The group denied being a threat as alleged in a new report by the office of the National Security Adviser.

Giwa said: “The said classified document was titled 2016 Annual Threat Assessment and was an analysis by a multi-agency and multi-disciplinary organisation called the Intelligence Fusion Center (IFC).

“The activities of the IFC include analysing information from different sources and agencies with respect to threat to the country,” which the Shiites denied being part of.

He said: “the IMN is simply a minority religious group in Nigeria that is inclined to the Shia ideas of Islamic religion and is not armed or violent in its activities. The group does not have any record of attacking or posing any form of threats to anybody at any time in its 40 years of existence.

The IMN is also not an insurgent and is transparent in its activities and owns worship centers, medical facilities, over 300 schools and news media. It also holds various organisational fora, has property and millions of membership from all strata of life and is peaceful in all its dispensations.”

Giwa further stressed that the group’s activities include peaceful promotion among the adherents of various religions and sects, as well as encouraging fairness and justice to all, irrespective of tribe, region, section or religion.

The secretary explained that the IMN has had records of the highest blood donors for several years in the country. More so, in all the dirty records of religious intolerance and crises in the north, the IMN has never been identified as one of the religious organisations that spread hate speeches in their worship places and incite people into violence.”

He expressed worry that they were listed alongside the Boko Haram and ISIS, which he described as being offshoots of Wahhabi/Salafi organisations.

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