Shi'ites Hold Procession In Abuja To Mark ‘Arbaeen Trek’.

The movement said it would not surrender to the “injustice, oppression and tyranny of the President Muhammnadu Buhari-led government” and would continue to resist with its last drop of blood.

The Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) popularly known as “Shi’ites” on Saturday staged a peaceful procession in Abuja, the nation's capital to mark its annual Arbaeen Symbolic Trek, amid fear and anxiety among residents.


The movement said it would not surrender to the “injustice, oppression and tyranny of the President Muhammnadu Buhari-led government” and would continue to resist with its last drop of blood

The procession which kicked off from Wuse Zone 3 was terminated at the popular Julius Berger Roundabout without any incident of attack by the security agents

Arbaeen is a Shiites’ annual religious practice usually conducted on the 20th Safar of the Islamic calendar to mark the 40th day of the murder of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammed who was killed on the 10th Muharram.

The protesters in their number, both males and females, marched through the Wuse Market chanting anti-government songs.

According to the Secretary of Academic Forum of the movement, Abdullahi Musa, who spoke to SaharaReporters, this was the first time the movement would have a procession without any attack from the security agents.



He said, “You can see how it ended peacefully today as the security forces did not attack us and this will make it clear to all and sundry that the Buhari regime is the cause of all violence in Abuja and other states with regard to our programmes as this is the first time we started and ended it without harassment from either the Nigerian Army or the police since 2015.

Also, a statement signed by Dr Dauda Nalado on behalf of the movement said the purposes of the trek was to commemorate the trials and tribulations faced by the household of the Holy Prophet (SAW), who were chained and dragged barefoot from Karbala to Damascus in the scorching heat of the Arabian desert.

The statement noted that it was a sad event which clearly depicted a mark of the injustice perpetrated against Prophet Muhammad.

Nalado added that Arbaeen mourners had since started trekking from different places in Iraq to the tomb of Imam Husain at Karbala, famous among which is Najaf to Karbala, approximately 100 kilometres.

The statement read, “Imam Husain (AS) sacrificed his life and challenged the tyrant ruler Yazid son of Mu’awiya. He, together with his family members and tens of supporters (seventy-two males), were surrounded by thousands of well-armed soldiers and massacred in the plain of Karbala. They were subjected to psychological torture and denied drinking water for days.

"He fought the stooges of the tyrant bravely and valiantly. Just before his martyrdom, he had witnessed the maltreatment of the female members of his family, the family of the greatest of all the Prophets. He made all these sacrifices to protect humanity from tyrants, tyranny, injustice and oppression."