Presidency denies banning Shiites from practicing their religion

Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman 

The Presidency on Sunday has accused the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) of spreading falsehood against the federal government in order to attract public sympathy.

The presidency has clarified that it was the criminality being perpetrated by the group that was proscribed and not the religion being practised by the larger numbers of peaceful and law-abiding members of the group in the country.



Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in a statement said the proscription was to discourage wanton violence, murder and wilful destruction of public and private property.

On Friday, the government secured an ex-parte court order to proscribe the Islamic group.

The court order for the proscription of the Shiite group was issued by the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court.

The presidency explained that contrary to the claim by IMN that it had been banned from practising its religion, President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration “has not banned Shiites from observing their five daily prayers and going to Mecca to perform the Holy pilgrimage.



“Their position is blatantly false and deceptive.

“The IMN is deliberately changing the narrative in order to gain sympathy and divert the attention of the world from its terrorist activities, including attacking soldiers, killing policemen and a youth corps member, destroying government ambulances and public property, consistently defying authority of the state.”

According the presidency, the banned organisation was taken over by extremists who didn’t believe in peaceful protests and instead employed violence and arson, driving fear and undermining the rights of others and constituted authority.

The presidency said it agrees that the constitution protects freedom of worship, “but not to the detriment of the society, especially where such freedom harms others, and breaks law and order.”