- A rights group has demanded the proscription of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) and subsequent designation as a terrorist organization
- The group said Nigerians are aware that IMN leader, Ibraheem El-Zakzaky was caught with a large cache of arms and ammunitions
Torkuma V Asogo, its executive director, declared that IMN have claimed severally that they do not respect Nigerian laws
A large number of protesters on Friday, November 17, besieged the office of the attorney general of the federation to demand the proscription of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria and subsequent designation as a terrorist organization.
The group, during a protest march to the office of the attorney-general of the federation and minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, in Abuja warned that after the confrontation with the convoy of the Chief of Army Staff in December 2015, the IMN was already re-grouping to launch attacks on innocent Nigerians.
The Nation reports that Torkuma V Asogo, the executive director of the group who led the rally said: ''If our laws cannot fight terrorism, the guns may also not be enough to win the battle.
Rights group protests non-proscription of IMN to AGF. Photo credit: The Nation
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''IMN have claimed severally that they do not respect Nigerian laws. As recently as this week, Nigerians have become aware that IMN leader, Ibraheem El-Zakzaky was caught with a large cache of arms ammunitions in the period leading up to his confrontation with the military and his subsequent arrest and detention.
''On several occasions his members had contemplated storming the facility in which he is detained with the intention to attack the security operatives there and free him while hiding such heinous plots under the cover of protests.
''IMN’s link to Iran, a major state sponsor of terrorism, is not in doubt. This to us calls for not just concern but underscores the need to be proactive especially in the light of a recent CIA report that clearly indicted Iran for sponsoring terrorism to destabilize other countries.
''Other nations have taken steps to designate groups connected to Iran as terror organizations to ensure the safety of their citizens. Nigeria must be the only country that allows an Iranian sponsored terror group to go around attacking security agents and harassing citizens without consequences.
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''This is simply unacceptable. Iran’s backing of IMN has emboldened it as a terror group. Its members have openly confronted the military, the police and even our defenseless population the last being the attack on the police in Abuja.
''Before this, IMN has made life unbearable to the population of Nigerians living within its sphere of influence. It even went as far as declaring for itself a parallel government.
''This rally to your office is for us to demand the proscription of IMN, which the Kaduna State Government outlawed and properly documented in its gazette a long time ago.
''Several other states have toed the same path but this kind of installment approach is not adequate to deal with the threat posed by IMN considering its international sponsorship as terror group.
“We therefore decided it is time to make this demand because of the increasing threats of IMN militants.
''We consequently demand that the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation properly designate IMN as a terrorist organization since its menace is growing every day and without any check from the Federal Government its criminal acts of terror will spread to other parts of the country.''
Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had reported that a group of civil society organizations called on Malami to proscribe the IMN as a terrorist organization.
The organization under the aegis of the Coalition Of Civil Society Organizations For Transparency and Good Governance said the IMN members popularly known as Shiites will snowball into another disaster in Nigeria if not handled appropriately.
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Source: Naija.ng