Some residents of Zaria, Kaduna state, on Saturday alleged that the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, otherwise known as Shiites, had subjected them to untold hardship in the past 20 years.
Addressing a news conference in Kaduna, spokesman of the group, Alhaji Idris Mohammed Baba, said the Shiites had held residents of Zaria and Sabon Gari local government areas hostage with impunity, as they allegedly operated a parallel government.
Although he described the recent killing of members of the recent clash with the Nigerian army as unfortunate, he called on the Federal Government to urgently call the Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky-led movement in their communities to order in the interest of peace and stability.
According to him, sometimes in May 2015, 24 youths in the Gyellesu area of Zaria where Sheikh Zakzaky is resident, were declared persona non grata for daring to challenge impunity being allegedly perpetrated by members of the sect.
Narrating the ordeals of residents of Zaria in the hands of the sect members for over 20 years, Baba alleged that at some point, the sect members even threatened to kill him.
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