Kaduna State Government has ordered the arrest and prosecution of Ibrahim Musa, spokesman of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), a sect it declared illegal last Friday.
A few hours after the sect was declared illegal, Musa publicly admitted he was a member and identified himself as the spokesman.
Kaduna directed the state’s Commissioner of Police to ensure Musa is arrested and prosecuted by the Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice.
The state government also directed all security agencies to vigorously enforce the law ansd said citizens could not be allowed to wantonly test the laws of the state or act as being above the law.
“The Kaduna state government wishes to reiterate that it fully respects freedom of religion and other rights as guaranteed by Sections 38 and 40 of the 1999 Constitution.
“The same Constitution imposes an obligation on government to secure the state and protect every citizen against infringement of their rights by others.
“Drawing on powers vested by Section 45(1) of the Constitution, and Section 97a of the Penal Code, the governor signed an order declaring the IMN as an unlawful society in the interest of public order and to protect the rights and freedoms of all persons in Kaduna State,” Samuel Aruwan, spokesman of Nasir el-Rufai, governor of the state, said in a statement.
Ibrahim Zakzaky, leader of the Shi’ite sect, has been in detention since his followers clashed with soldiers in Zaria, in December 2015.