An attack by an outlawed pro-Iran Nigerian Shiite group left at least two law enforcement officers dead and three others unconscious in the capital city of Abuja on Sunday, according to police reports.
Josephine Adeh, spokesperson for the Abuja police force, confirmed the assault in a statement, describing it as “an unprovoked attack by the proscribed Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN)” on police personnel. The militants targeted a police checkpoint, resulting in the deaths of two officers and leaving three others hospitalized. Additionally, three police patrol vehicles were set ablaze during the incident.
The attackers, armed with machetes, knives, and improvised explosive devices, caught law enforcement off guard. The Islamic Movement of Nigeria, banned by the government in 2019, has long maintained close ties with Tehran and draws inspiration from Iran’s Islamic Revolution of the late 1970s.
Abuja’s Police Commissioner, Benneth C. Igweh, strongly condemned the attack and pledged to bring those responsible to justice. “The situation is presently under control and normalcy restored,” the police statement assured, noting that several arrests had already been made.
This latest violent episode underscores the ongoing tensions between Nigerian authorities and the IMN, a Shiite organization in a country where the Muslim population is predominantly Sunni. The group’s leader, Ibrahim Zakzaky, a Shiite cleric who has repeatedly called for an Iranian-style Islamic revolution in Nigeria, was released from prison in July 2021 after more than five years of incarceration.
The attack comes at a time of heightened security concerns in Nigeria, as the country grapples with various insurgent groups and separatist movements. The involvement of a pro-Iran faction adds another layer of complexity to the nation’s security challenges, potentially straining diplomatic relations and complicating efforts to maintain stability in the region.
