The Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) has issued a damning indictment against Nigerian security forces, alleging the cold-blooded killing of 26 of its members during a peaceful pro-Palestine protest in Abuja, and the continued detention of 274 others — including minors and critically injured individuals.
In a press release signed by Shaikh Sidi Munir Mainasara and made available to SaharaReporters on Tuesday, the group accused both the Nigerian Army and the police of gross human rights violations, including the refusal to release the bodies of slain protesters and the illegal incarceration of dozens of participants of the 2025 International Quds Day rally.
The protest, held on Friday, March 28, 2025, at the Usman Bin Affan Mosque along Aminu Kano Crescent in Abuja, was reportedly stormed by members of the elite Guards Brigade, who, according to IMN, launched an unprovoked attack on the demonstrators. “During the attack, the Army killed 26 peaceful protesters and arrested 274 others, among them 60 minors and 11 patients in critical medical condition who are still languishing in detention,” the statement read.
Despite the passage of several days, the corpses of those allegedly killed remain withheld, while hundreds of families are still searching for answers — and justice.
According to the group, their only “crime” was taking part in the Abuja International Quds Day, an annual event held in solidarity with the oppressed people of Palestine. Quds Day, which was initiated by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979, is marked in over 80 countries worldwide — and has been observed in Nigeria for more than four decades without incident.
“This year alone, Quds Day was peacefully held in over 17 states across Nigeria, including Lagos, Kano, and Sokoto,” IMN stated. “There was no provocation in these locations, so why was Abuja an exception?”
The group expressed disappointment at the perceived hypocrisy of the Nigerian government, citing statements made just weeks earlier by Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar. In an interview with Al Jazeera in Doha, Qatar, Tuggar had condemned Israel’s offensive in Gaza, saying, “Israel must stop its war on Gaza, and the world must drop its double standards over the killings in the besieged enclave.”
However, IMN says that just days after this diplomatic stance, National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu allegedly directed security agencies to “brutally suppress” the Free Palestine demonstration in Abuja. “It’s an outrageous contradiction,” said the movement. “On one hand, Nigeria preaches peace and justice abroad. On the other, it murders and imprisons peaceful demonstrators at home.”
IMN, led by the influential cleric Sayyid Ibraheem Zakzaky, has vowed to hold President Bola Ahmed Tinubu personally responsible for what it calls a state-sanctioned massacre. “We will pray against all those who ordered and executed this heinous act, and we will seek justice through all legal means,” the group declared.
Condemning the killings as a “devilish crime against humanity,” the group promised to challenge every act of repression and human rights abuse in court. “This is not just about us,” the statement concluded. “It is about the right of every Nigerian to speak, to gather, to protest — and to live.”
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