Igbo group seeks terrorist tag for Shiites

The South East Renewal Group (SERG) has called on the Federal Government to declare the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) also known as Shiites a terrorist organisation.

SERG said it had observed the ‘dangerous activities’ of the Shiites “whose terrorism appears to have the blessing of the Federal Government, as not much has been done to deal with it the same dispatch with which the IPOB problem was addressed.”

The group maintained that the proscribed pro-Biafra organisation did not commit half of the atrocities allegedly being perpetrated by IMN yet no action had been taken against it.

During a press conference yesterday in Abuja, SERG’s national president, Charles Mbani, said: “There are overwhelming evidence and testimonies that the IMN has remained a lawless group that continues to torment the citizens while regularly confronting security agencies in the country.”

The SERG leader claimed that the Shiites had “repeatedly shut down the Business District in Abuja with its violent protests while the authorities watch with sealed lips.”

He further alleged: “Each time these protests shut down businesses, majority which are for Igbo, are now being driven to the brink based on the activities because of an illegal group.

“The violent nature of IMN protests is a threat to the safety of Nigerians because it is a matter of time before more people are either killed or maimed as the group’s members continue to become more daring.

“We are aware, from what we have been picking from news reports, that the IMN has a well-stocked armoury supplied by the Islamic Republic of Iran. What we are unsure of is whether the military and security agencies in Nigeria are scared of confronting the group because of the level of arsenal at its disposal.”

He added: “It is obvious that more damage is being done to the integrity of Nigeria as a nation every single day the group operates as a parallel state and promotes hate speech targeted at citizens that do not subscribe to its ideology. It equally continues to recruit, give military training to, radicalise youths, and then deploy them against the Nigerian state.

“SERG hereby calls on the Federal Government to file a suit for the designation of IMN a terrorist organisation as provided in the nation’s anti-terrorism laws.

“The Attorney General should be directed to immediately institute the action.”