The Nigerian police on Sunday said two of its officers were killed and three left unconscious after an attack by the proscribed Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) known as Shi’ite in Nigeria’s capital Abuja.
FCT police command spokesperson Josephine Adeh, in a statement, said: “The proscribed organisation attacked the police checkpoint unprovoked, wielding machetes, improvised explosive devices and knives.”
She added that police vans were also burned in the attack.
The Shi’ite group was banned by Nigeria in 2019 after violent protests demanding the release of its jailed leader.
Nigeria’s army accused the group of wanting to assassinate a former chief of army staff and it allegedly retaliated, killing more than 300 of the group’s members in 2015, and its leader, El Zakazy, was imprisoned from 2015 till 2021.
Meanwhile, the Federal Capital Territory Police Commissioner, Benneth Igweh, said the Islamist group has declared war on the police.
He expressed his deep displeasure over the incident, highlighting the severe consequences of the confrontation.
Igweh, however, labelled the actions of the Shiite group as “provocative,” especially their attacks on security operatives, which also left two policewomen critically injured.
During a statement to the press at Force Headquarters, Igweh strongly condemned the violence and vowed that such attacks on police personnel would not be tolerated under his watch.
“Their killers will not go unpunished,” Igweh stated, underscoring his commitment to bringing those responsible to justice.
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