The Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) also known as Shiites have vowed to continue with their protest until their leader Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky is released from detention.

Nigeria Police had restricted protest by Shiites or any other group to the Unity Fountain, in Abuja.

Spokesperson of the Police, ACP Frank Mba stated that this became necessary to ensure the free flow of traffic and safety of lives and property.

However, speaking to newsmen, a Shiite member, Abdullahi Musa, said government and the police should get ready to kill more of its members as they would continue their protests.

Musa said: “The protest will continue, and if they do not want to see us on the street, the government should free our leader. If they want to kill, they should go ahead and kill. We are ready to die for our leader. Failure to free our leader, the government should get ready to kill more of us.

“The police should respect the law of the land. They have no backup from the constitution to disallow anybody from protesting and restricting people to Unity Fountain. The police should tell their masters to obey the court judgment and free our leader.

“The protests on the streets of Abuja are as a result of the government’s disregard for the judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction, the Federal High Court Abuja, which freed the revered leader of the movement from illegal detention described by the government as ‘protective custody’.

“At least, before the Zaria massacre of 2015, the streets of Abuja, that are more of concern to the government than the lives of its citizens, had not been ‘taken over’ by the adherents of the Islamic Movement.

“It is not possible under every logical reasoning to exonerate President Buhari from the genocide perpetrated by the Nigerian Army under his command as the Commander-in-Chief, where over 1,000 unarmed members of the movement, including men, women and children, were killed from December 12 to 14, 2015. The government has declared illegally burying 347 members of the movement in a mass grave at Mando Village in Kaduna after the mass murder, in violation of the Geneva Convention and every known law in the country.

“The movement has never been violent or taken over streets, as falsely claimed by the Presidency. The Islamic Movement has been in existence for about 40 years. It is on record that the movement has been peaceful and has never resorted to violence.”