The face-off which left several others injured took the intervention of armed mobile police personnel to bring the situation under control.
Shiites in a statement on Tuesday, August 9, 2022 said the incident occurred during the group’s Ashura mourning procession.
According to the statement signed by leader of the group, Abdulhamid Bello, "Police on Monday, August 9, 2022 gunned down at least seven followers of Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky (H), and injured over 40 others during the Ashura mourning procession in Zaria which was observed peacefully across Nigeria and different parts of the world.”.
Bello, also alleged that a combined team of security operatives shot indiscriminately at the members.
Bello gave the names of those killed as Jafar Jushi, Kazeem Magume, Ali Samaru, Muhsin Zakzaky, Umar Fatika and another member whom he could not identify yet.
He added that some of the victims were rushed to St Luke’s Hospital, Wusasa, while those in critical condition were taken to ABU Teaching Hospital and Shika hospital, also in Zaria.
The State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Mohammed Jalinge said he was aware of the incident but no official report yet.
When pressed further for his comment about the incident, Jalinge said the environment where he was speaking from was not conducive to grant an interview promising to call back in a few minutes.
This reporter called him after an hour, but he declined the call.
Recall that in Abuja, the Police Commissioner of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), command had last Friday banned the group from protests, after a rally at the popular Unity Fountain, where they had a sit-out.
Our correspondent gathered that members of the religious sect, in defiance of the Police order, yesterday insisted on staging their peaceful protest around the Fountain, saying the ban was a breach of their constitutional rights.
The large crowd of protesters included adult males and females, as well as under-aged members who came from various parts of the country.
Business activities around the Unity Fountain and 3-Arms Zone were grounded in what started as a peaceful demonstration but later turned violent when security forces tried to stop their march on the streets.
Eye witnesses said that Shiites members were ready for a showdown with the security agents as they defied police tear-gas and hot water in their march towards the Eagle Square.