FG to publish proscription of Shiites in official gazette on Monday

Following the declaration of Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) as a terrorist group by the Federal High Court, Abuja and proscription order of the group obtained by the Federal Government, the government is set to publish the order in the official gazette by Monday, July 29, 2019.

This was confirmed to Punch on Saturday, July 27, 2019, by top officials of the Federal Ministry of Justice, who didn’t want their names to be mentioned.

The Federal Government obtained the ex parte order to proscribe the group on Friday, July 26, 2019, and publishing the order in the official gazette was part of the court’s ruling.

According to Punch, Justice Nkeonye Maha ordered the government to publish the order in two national newspapers.

A source, who spoke to the newspaper on the matter said, “The publication of the order in the newspaper will be done later in the week. But I can assure you that the publication in the Official Gazette will be done by Monday evening.”

You’ll recall that the Federal Government obtained the order barely three days after IMN members clashed with the police over the detention of their leader, Sheikh Ibrahim Elzakzaky, who has been in police custody since 2015.

Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, Shiite leader has been in police custody since 2015. (Premium Times) ece-auto-gen

The clash led to the death of the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations, Federal Capital Territory Command, Usman Umar, a corps member, serving as a journalist at Channels TV, Precious Owolabi and eleven other people.

Speaking on the proscription order, the presidency said the military can now take every step necessary to stop IMN members violence.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, said this on Saturday.

Asked how and when the FG intended to implement the court order, Shehu said, “We have confirmation that a judge has given the proscription order in line with a request by the Federal Ministry of Justice.

“The Federal Government sought the order in view of the responsibility imposed on it by the constitution, making the protection of lives and property as the number one duty of a government.

“Under the law, the exercise of the individual right is limited by the collective rights of the entire society.”

“By this order, the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria are justified to take whatever steps are necessary to stop the growing violence.

“However, the larger body of the followers of the Shiite faith who remain law-abiding in their activities have nothing to fear. They are free to carry out their lawful religious activity.”

Meanwhile, IMN members have reacted to the proscription order and the declaration of their group as a terrorist group.

‪Members of Islamic movement in Nigeria (IMN) also known as Shiites have protested, demanding an unconditional release of their leader, Sheik Ibraheem El-Zakzaky. (Pulse) ece-auto-gen

The secretary to the academic forum of the movement, Abdullahi Musa, in an interview with TheCable on Saturday said no court can stop them from practising their religion.

He added that the President Muhammadu Buhari’s government does not need the court to continue its “persecution” of the sect.

He said, “Everybody is aware of their moves. All they want is to suppress the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) just to please Saudi Arabia. They want to kill Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky and silence all of us.”

“When they were killing us, they didn’t get any court order. Now, they are talking of court order, does Buhari obey court orders?”

Two Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Mr Femi Falana, and Chief Mike Ozekhome, have also condemned the the proscription of the group, saying it is unconstitutional.

While Falana, who has been the El-Zakzaky and Zeenat since their detention in 2015, said the proscription is an attempt by the government to stop Shiite members from demanding the release of their leader and his wife, Ozekhome said the proscription is discriminatory on the ground that that Buhari administration has refused to proscribe herdsmen that have allegedly been killing Nigerians for a long time.