A court in Jos, the Plateau State capital, has remanded minors including a four-year-old, Salamatu Yunusa, believed to be members of Shiites, in prison custody, prompting the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) to raise grave allegations of rights violation against the state government.

A statement signed by Ibrahim Musa, President, Media Forum of the movement, issued on Monday, in Kaduna, North-West Nigeria, alleged that following the attack on members of the Islamic Movement by security agents in connivance with some miscreants across some states on Wednesday last week, “authorities arbitrarily arrested people and charged them to courts on trumped up charges and remanded them in prison custody.”

“This absurdity however, contrasts with what happened in Kaduna and Kano states where tens of those arrested were released on bail being minors,” Musa said.

Continuing, the statement said: “It is surprising therefore why the case in Katsina and Plateau states should be different, when evidence strongly suggests that the attacks in all the states were orchestrated by a central command.

“We hereby call on the authorities in these two states to release these minors who have by now unjustifiably spent about a week in jails. This is an embarrassment to the nation.

“In the same vein, those who were brutalised and injured among those in detention are yet to get proper medical attention.

“They are prisoners of conscience. This is unfortunate and a gross miscarriage of justice. All humanitarian laws recognise that prisoners should not be denied medical treatment. This cannot be an exception.

“We also condemn in very strong words the inhuman brutality meted to IMN members by the Army in Jos for no other reason than their faith. We therefore call for their release without further delays.

“IMN recognises that the recent attack on its members by security agents in collaboration with some unemployed youths across the various states was instigated by Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai.

“We are aware that he has even planned for Katsina State a vicious plot and model of how to attack IMN members in Katsina metropolis. This diabolical plot involves attack whenever IMN members leave their Islamic centre for any educational programme, and the opportunity to burn and raze our centre will be created and executed.

“We believe El-Rufai is inciting hatred with a view to minority cleansing in his self styled war against the Islamic Movement in Nigeria. He already has a case of crime against humanity, which he is frantically trying to cover. Nevertheless this will not deter us in our pursuit of justice for the victims of the Zaria massacre.

“We therefore reiterate our call for the unconditional release of our leader, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky, his wife and all others under detention for almost a year now. Their continued detention is a gross violation of their fundamental human rights.”

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