No fewer than four people were said to have lost their lives when operatives of the Kaduna State Police Command fired shots to disperse a procession by members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), otherwise known as Shiites to mark the International Quds Day.

It was also gathered that 20 persons sustained various degrees of injuries during the incident.

The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Mansir Hassan, however said no death was recorded during the pandemonium, noting that no live ammunition was used to disperse the procession.

He also confirmed that three personnel of the command were injured and taken to the hospital for treatment in the incident.

The Shiites reportedly trooped out in a large number yesterday for a peaceful procession in the state metropolis when the law enforcement operatives, particularly the Nigeria Police, moved to stop them.

It was gathered that they had assembled near the Katsina roundabout along Ahmadu Bello Way prior to the arrival of the police, who attempted to disperse them.

This situation caused tension and unease among the residents, especially those with businesses situated along Ahmadu Bello Way, as shots were fired by the police to disperse the protesters.

Speaking in an interview after the incident, Malam Aliyu Tirmiziy, one of the leaders, stated that four of their members were killed while 20 others were injured.

He said, “We usually come out on the last Friday of every Ramadan to protest peacefully and show our support to the people of Palestine for the inhuman treatment they are being forced to face as is being done by others across the globe.

“We usually have a peaceful procession but this time around, as we were about to start, the police came and threw tear gas at us and started shouting and in the process, four of our members were killed while 20 others were injured.”

Also speaking, Prof. Dauda Nalado, a member of the IMN, Prof. Dauda Nalado, a member of the IMN, said the Quds Day is celebrated annually during the month of Ramadan.

Nalado said: “The great global leader of the Islamic Revolution, Imaam Ruhullah Al-Musawi Al-Khomeini, invited Muslims and non-Muslims with humanity at heart to show solidarity with the innocent and oppressed people of Palestine and against the brutality of the usurper, apartheid and the illegal state of Israel. The imam declared the last Friday of each Ramadan as the International Quds Day.

“The Islamic movement under the leadership of his Eminence, Sayyid Dr. Ibraheem Ya’qoub El-Zakzaky, has been observing this event for decades in Nigeria. In fact, one of the reasons of the Zaria massacre executed by the Buhari regime in 2015 was to kill Sayyid Ibraheem El-Zakzaky and crush this noble movement for justice, all due to the staunch support for the Palestinian cause. The public could recall that on July 25, 2015, Nigerian soldiers attacked the Quds Day procession in support of Palestine in Zaria, resulting in the assassination of 34 people, including three biological children of this great African leader.”

He added, “For six months now, the Zionist State has killed almost 33,000 Palestinians and wounded almost 80, 000, of whom more than half are women and children. They have destroyed buildings and turned Gaza City into rubble. They have violated all international human rights rules and committed war crimes with impunity.

“It is pertinent to remind us that since the illegal state was carved out in 1948, the Palestinians have been subjugated and subjected to oppressive rule, controlling and humiliating every aspect of their daily lives. This current brutality by the Zionists was launched after a retaliative “Aqsa storm operation” by the Palestinians on October 7, 2023. These developments signal the final blow to Zionism.”

He called on all people and nations with humanity to condemn the genocide against the Palestinian population and stop it, saying, “unfortunately the United States and the United Kingdom are supporters of this genocide.”

He thanked South Africa and the axis of resistance comprising Iran, Lebanon (Hizbullah) Syria, Iraq and Yemen for their support.

He called on the Federal Government sever diplomatic ties with Israel even as he called for a permanent ceasefire and a comprehensive package for the freedom of Palestine.

When contacted to confirm the number of people killed and injured in the incident, the PPRO said: “We got the information that the members of the proscribed IMN are going to hold a massive protest in the state and the command deployed its men to most of the strategic places to stop them from blocking the road, especially Ahmadu Bello Way Kaduna.

“On sighting our men deployed there, the IMN members started throwing stones, catapults and locally made guns against our men, which led to three of our men sustaining injuries and now receiving treatment at a police clinic.”

He said the police used teargas to disperse them, which enabled the operatives to arrest eight suspects.

He listed items recovered from the suspects to include three locally fabricated guns, catapults and other dangerous locally made weapons.

On the alleged killing of four IMN members, the PPRO denied the allegation, saying: “If they claimed four of their members were killed, where were the bodies and which hospital were they taken to. How can we identify them? Our men didn’t use live ammunition but only used teargas to disperse them,” he said.