Police attack pro-Zakzaky rally in Nigeria

Nigeria’s security forces attacked a protest rally held in Abuja in solidarity with the country’s top Shia Muslim cleric, Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky.

Nigeria’s security forces attacked a protest rally held in Abuja in solidarity with the country’s top Shia Muslim cleric, Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky.

They used teargas and water cannon to disperse the peaceful protesters who were demanding an end to the illegal detention of the senior cleric.

Hundreds of Shia Muslims, most of them women, took part in the demonstration, al-Sharaq al-Awsat reported. 

A few months ago, Amnesty International called on the Nigerian government to abide by a court ruling that called for an end to the “unlawful” detention of Sheikh Zakzaky.

The UK-based rights group said the government in Nigeria could extend Zakzaky’s detention on trumped-up charges in a bid to justify the crackdown on Shia community.