The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu in a meeting stated that Nigerians have the permission to be Shiites but not members of the proscribed Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN).
In an interview with Daily Trust, IGP Adamu stated that not all Shiites are targeted.
According to him, IMN members who he described as terrorists are targeted as the group does not respect the Nigerian constitution, constituted authority and government in general.
He said: “No, it’s not every Shiite that is targeted. There is an organisation called the Islamic Movement in Nigeria. That’s the organisation that has been proscribed.
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“So, if you’re a member, you’re a terrorist; you denounce being a member of the organisation, behave well and recognise the government, because they don’t recognise our constitution, they don’t recognise constituted authority.
“In as much as you don’t recognise our government and you don’t recognise our constitution and you are a member of that movement, you’re a terrorist. And if you come out to protest or to disrupt the peace of everybody, we treat you as a terrorist.”
On Nigerians who come out as Shiites and not IMN members, he said:
“If they come out as Shiites, they’re free, but not as IMN members. You know in the country, we have Shiites who are not members of the IMN. If you remember, during the Ashura period, we made a pronouncement that Shiites were allowed to come out to participate and mark the event, but not as members of the IMN, and that’s very clear enough.”
