Presidency justifies proscription of Shiite IMN

The presidency on Saturday defended the proscription of the Shiite Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN).

The order was obtained ‘exparte,’ meaning other interested parties such as the IMN were neither notified nor allowed to be present before the court gave the order.

The government based the order on the protests by the group which turned violent in the past week leading to the death of over a dozen people.

The victims include a senior police officer, a journalist and about a dozen Shiites.

The government accused the Shiites of embarking on violent protests, but the Shiites said their peaceful protests were attacked by armed security operatives.

It was based on the violence lat week that the government moved to ban the group.

The ban has been condemned by senior lawyers and human rights activists who say it is an infringement on the freedom of religion guaranteed by the Nigerian constitution.

In a statement on Sunday, the presidency said the proscription has nothing to do with banning the larger number of peaceful and law abiding Shiites in the country from practicing their religion.

“Instead it was to discourage wanton violence, murder and wilful destruction of public and private property,” the presidency said.

The presidency alleged that the organisation has been taken over by extremists who do not believe in peaceful protests and instead employed violence and arson, driving fear and undermining the rights of others and constituted authority.

The statement was first made available through a Twitter thread on Sunday evening.