The Federal Capital Territory Police Commissioner, Benneth Igweh, has condemned the violence that erupted during a procession by the proscribed Islamic Movement in Nigeria, commonly referred to as the Shiites, in Abuja on Sunday, August 25.
The clash resulted in the deaths of two police officers and a local trader, as well as the injury of two policewomen.
Igweh described the actions of the Shiite group as “provocative” and condemned their attacks on security operatives. During a statement to the press, he vowed that such attacks would not be tolerated and that those responsible would be brought to justice.
The clash also saw substantial property damage, with at least three police vehicles being set ablaze. Igweh said: “You can see now that these people (Shiites) have killed my men. They even went ahead to injure two policewomen.
“In fact, they’ve even declared war on security operatives. We spoke to their lawyer, if you heard what he was saying, you would be shocked, you would know that these people have declared total war on us. I want to assure you that we won’t take that lightly, this is the last protest or procession they will carry out in FCT.”
