Kaduna State Government Wednesday officially released Gazette on the Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky-led Islamic Movement in Nigeria, IMN, which has been declared an unlawful society.
The government disclosed that it “did not and cannot ban any religion, but it has a duty to declare unlawful any group that threatens peace and security.”
Addressing a news conference in Kaduna, Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s spokesman, Samuel Aruwan, said government upholds religious freedoms and all constitutional rights of every resident to practice the religion of their choice.
Aruwan noted that it is fundamental obligation of the government to preserve security and uphold the rights of all citizens both to practice faith and not be imperiled or be distressed by the way others exercise their faith.
It would be recalled that the Judicial Commission of Inquiry chaired by Justice Muhammed Lawal Garba, along with Prof. Auwalu Yadudu, Special Adviser on Legal Matters under late Gen. Sani Abacha, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Afakriya Gadzama, former Director General State Security Service among others recommended the proscription of IMN.
Aruwan said: “It solemnly declared unlawful a specific group that continues to threaten public order in the state. The IMN was never a registered organisation and it refused to conduct itself with full adherence to the laws of this state.”
He added that IMN willfully ignored the law and neglected the obligations of civility.
“Other groups in the Shia tradition are active in Nigeria. Like adherents of all other faiths, they are free to practice their creed without injuring the rights of others.
“Kaduna State has suffered and endured too many calamities, triggered by persons and groups that insist on foisting their faith or political preferences on others. It is a hallmark of civilisation that every assertion of rights by a citizen is done with full acknowledgement of, and respect for the rights of other citizens,” he added.