The police have beefed up security in Kaduna and its environs to contain possible ‘invasion’ by members of Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), popularly known as Shiites.

Residents woke up yesterday to discover heavy presence of armed security operatives and deployment of bomb-detecting vehicles and armoured personnel carriers in strategic locations within the metropolis.

The Shiites have sustained protests for weeks in respect of their detained leader, Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky and wife who the Federal Government are holding in defiance of extant court orders for their release.

Contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, (PPRO) for the state command, DSP Yakubu Sabo, said the heavy security “is just part of the command’s recent proactive measures against crime and criminality.”