Nigeria Shiites Say Police Fired on Processions, Killed Five

(Bloomberg) -- The Islamic Movement of Nigeria, a Shiite group, said police opened fire on members on religious processions across the country, leaving at least five people dead and many other injured, an official said.

Three people were killed when police shot at members marching in the northern state of Kaduna, Ibrahim Musa, a spokesman for the Shiite group, said by phone from the city of Kaduna, the state capital. Two people were also killed in Bauchi and Gombe states, he said.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration declared the Islamic Movement a terrorist group in July following months of sometimes bloody street protests as members demanded the release of Ibrahim el-Zakzaky, their detained leader. El-Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenat, were detained in December 2015 after his followers clashed with soldiers in the motorcade of the country’s army chief, Tukur Buratai.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ruth Olurounbi in Abuja at rolurounbi4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, Dulue Mbachu, Hilton Shone

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