Twenty-seven members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria were reported dead during a bomb attack targeted at the annual Ashura mourning procession in Potiskum on Monday. About 80 people sustained several forms of injuries.
The Ashura is an annual event commemorated by the Movement in major cities across Nigeria to mourn the brutal murder of Imam Husain, grandson of Prophet Muhammad in the plain of Karbala, Iraq, 61 after Hijra.
Leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky had on Sunday alerted on grand plan to infiltrate and attack the Ashura procession by the Nigerian security.
According to the Ameer (representative) of the Movement in Potiskum, Malam Mustapha Lawan Nasidi, the bomb was targeted at the procession, and exploded when people were dispersing and innocent mourners were killed and many sustained injuries.
To worsen the situation, he said, soldiers arrived the scene and opened fire on the already aggrieved and bereaved mourners. “We hold the Nigerian military accountable, they openly killed our brothers and sisters. Bombs are properties of security operatives, and not civilians. Why don’t they investigate trademark bombs that explode in this country to ascertain where it comes from? Because they know it is their handiwork, or their agents’. We hold them responsible”, said Nasidi.
Leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky is yet to make public statement on the incident.
It would be recalled that soldiers had killed 34 members of the Islamic Movement, including 3 biological son of Sheikh Zakzaky, during Quds Day procession on July 25, this year.
