Nigeria parliament on lockdown after clash with Shiite group
Nigeria’s National Assembly was on lockdown on Tuesday after
shots were fired outside during clashes between police and a group of Shiite protesters.
Both sides blamed the other for the shooting. In a
statement, police said two officers were shot and wounded in the legs, and six
other officers were injured by individuals using clubs and stones.
But Abdullahi Muhammad Musa, a protester and member of the
Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), told Reuters that police fired the shots,
killing two protesters, after they peacefully tried to enter the assembly
building.
IMN, a group that represents Nigeria’s minority Shiites, has
protested regularly outside the National Assembly, calling for the release of
their leader, Ibrahim Zakzaky, who has been in detention since 2015.
Nigerian security forces have killed some 400 members of the
group in response to largely peaceful protests since 2015, according to human
rights groups.
Police said they had arrested 40 protesters during Tuesday’s
incident. The assembly remained on lockdown as of late afternoon. In a
statement, the police force said they had “used minimum force to disperse the
unruly protesters.”
Witnesses said police used tear gas against the protesters,
and smoke could be seen coming from the area.