The leadership of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, Shi’ites, led by Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, has denied information emanating from the nation’s Department of State Security (DSS), that members of the movement would soon unleash terror on the country’s military and security formations, as plans of avenging their members that were killed recently in Zaria after a clash.

The reaction of the Islamic group was on the heels of a memo sent to the Zamfara State Commissioner of Police by the Director of State Security Service (SSS) in the state, Mallam Y. A Kure, dated 9th of August 2014, warning the police of a covert plan to unleash “attacks on security units and formations across the country.”

The memo, which urged for vigilance by all armed of security formations and the police, stated that, “Intelligence at the disposal of this Command revealed plans by the Shi’ites Islamic sect to attack security units/formations across the country,” stressing that, “this is to avenge the recent attack on their procession in Zaria, Kaduna State allegedly by the military, which they claimed resulted in the death of their members, including three sons of the sect’s spiritual leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky.”

However, Kure explained that, “consequently, you are advised to step up vigilance in and around our facilities and installations while alerting personnel on same.”

Reacting to the allegation against the Islamic group, the Media Spokesman to El-Zakzaky, Mallam Ibrahim Usman, in a statement yesterday, said that “this sinister move did not come to us as surprise, as three days after the Zaria massacre by the Nigerian military, an initial memo was equally sent to the Nigerian Army Headquarters Division 1 by the Zaria Depot Headquarters of the Nigerian Army signed by Brigadier General B.A. Fiboiumama and copied the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), intimating all military formations to be on red alert with the same evil intent.”

Usman said that, “it can be deduced that similar message was sent to all state commissioners of police to do the same, as directed by respective SSS directors.” He alleged that “the Nigerian security operatives having been condemned by the world for their atrocities in Zaria, and having woefully failed to get at the root of the Islamic movement, is now planning to kill more innocent lives and those they called Shi’ite Islamic Sect.”

According to Usman, “the constant usage and reference to Shi’ite sect and claim of revenge mission across the country could not have been without ulterior motive.” He stressed that “it is a false flag; a calculated plan to carry out nationwide attacks and kill innocent lives, as they did, and are still doing in the name of Boko Haram.”

Usman added: “The memo is in preparation for clandestine terror attacks by the government secret terror units with the view to shifting the blame on people they call Shi’ite sect. This will give all the government forces opportunity to descend on whosoever they wanted killed in the name of fighting Shi’ite sect.

“With this secret memo, we believe that the Nigerian security is up to no good. It is very obvious that there are planned attacks by a sponsored group of people on security units/formations and to shift blame on followers of Sheikh Zakzaky in order to justify their plan.”

Usman argued that “the Islamic Movement in Nigeria under the able leadership of Sheikh Ibraheem Yaqoub Zakzaky had always maintained that the issue of Boko Haram was a smoke-screen and manufactured script by the evil duo, CIA-MOSSAD, co-authored by the Nigerian government to suppress the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, as it is doing around the world.” He added: “Now that the Boko Haram script had gone beyond the script writer, and had been exposed in broad daylight in the July 25 Zaria incident, there is now shift in focus; fighting the so called Boko Haram would be a thing of the past, and the new war would be on Shi’ite Sect.”

He insisted: “It is worth mentioning that, the Islamic Movement is not a sect; it is a mass movement comprising people from all walks of life. Naturally, membership of this mass movement transcends beyond tribe, profession and religious inclination. In essence, its membership cuts across all segments of the society. This could be seen by the category of sympathizers to Sheikh Zakzaky after the gruesome murder of innocent citizens by soldiers in Zaria. Among those killed by the soldiers included Christians; among those participated during the same procession in Kaduna were also Christians.

“With the prevailing fabricated insecurity in the country, more atmosphere of insecurity is now created as directed by the SSS Director in the secret memo that all security units/formations nationwide should set up vigilance around the facilities/ Installations and take action, which clearly brings to light the false flag operation. This is a criminal idea emanating from cruel and insensitive minds that are completely ignorant of social reality.”

“We want to use this medium to re-state the stand of the Islamic Movement over what happened. As our revered Leader has stated, we have no intention of embarking on vengeance mission. This is not the first time the Movement had been victim of state terrorism without any reprisal”.

“As was the case in previous incidences in which we were victims, we will seek legal redress over the Zaria unfortunate incident.

“Similarly, we are not a SECT, for that is an ill-intent tag and label. In every religion there is a school of thought, the fact that we hold unto a particular school of thought in Islam, out of the many, did not make us a SECT. We are part of the society in general, and the Muslim Ummah in particular, with equal rights and privileges.

“The bottom line is that, the global arrogance sees the Islamic Movement as a threat and Sheikh Zakzaky as a stumbling block to the actualization of their selfish agenda in Africa. While calling for public understanding and awareness on the need to know our real enemy, the Islamic Movement can never keep silent in the face of injustice and oppression. We have never kept silent while the dignity, honour and life of the citizens is at stake.”

•Adapted from a Guardian report. Photo shows Sheikh Zakzaky.

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