Nigerian Shias rally in support of Iran despite security deployment

Scores of Shia Muslims in Nigeria held a pro-Iran rally on Friday, carrying images of the late ayatollah and chanting “Shame to America” despite a heavy security presence in the capital.

A group of 200 or so faithful gathered following afternoon prayers at the Abuja National Mosque, chanting anti-Israel and anti-US slogans, an AFP reporter at the scene saw, as the two nations continued to pummel the Islamic republic with bombardments that started two weeks ago.

“Shame to America, shame to Israel,” protesters chanted while police officers gathered at the mosque.

The Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), which led the protest, is a pro-Iran group of Shias, who are themselves a minority among Nigeria’s Muslims.

The crowd, which appeared to catch security forces off-guard by gathering inside the mosque grounds, dispersed after about 15 minutes.

The IMN has been outlawed by Nigerian authorities for advocating an Islamic revolution in the west African nation.

However, at the time of its banning in 2019, researchers characterised it as more interested in protest than political violence.

The IMN led marches through the streets of major cities in Nigeria’s Muslim-majority north on March 1, immediately following the start of the US-Israeli bombing campaign that killed Iranian leader Ali Khamenei and sparked a major regional war in the Middle East

Last week the US embassy closed “due to the potential” of unspecified “protests” because the IMN had been attempting to stage demonstrations that were deterred by security forces.

On Friday morning, traffic was at a standstill on roads leading into Abuja as checkpoints and a heavier than usual security presence slowed down vehicles.

The Nigerian government has at times cracked down harshly on the IMN, including in clashes at a protest last year that left 11 protesters and one soldier dead, according to an intelligence report seen by AFP at the time.

Authorities, protesters and rights groups disputed what sparked the violence.

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