TheCable

The Nigeria security and civil defence corps (NSCDC) says it has uncovered a “strange” factional sect of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), popularly known as Shi’ia sect, in Borno.

Ibrahim Abdullahi, state commandant of the corps, disclosed this in an interview with NAN on Sunday in Maiduguri.

Abdullahi explained that the group, which emerged in Kwaya Kusar local government area of the state, has a different ideology from Ibrahim El-Zakzaky’s.

He said that men of the command discovered the group through intelligence gathering and surveillance.

“As part of our statutory responsibility in monitoring the activities of religious bodies in the country, we have discovered this strange group,” Abdullahi said.

“When we invited the leader of the group (name withheld), he claimed to be nonviolent and that they are against the teachings of Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, the IMN leader.

“But we must detest and distance ourselves from all acts of violence and illegal groups in all their manifestations under whatever guise.

“We agree that it is their fundamental right to practise their own religion, but we are still not unmindful about factors that gave rise to the calamitous catastrophe which engulfed us in the recent past.”

“Let us collectively bring the calamity brought to us by some misguided miscreants to logical end by embracing lasting peace in our country. Indeed it is gratifying that we can go to bed without any fear and go about our normal businesses.

“The NSCDC and other security agencies would work toward ensuring appropriate measures that would foster lasting peace through effective enforcement of law and order.”

Abdullahi said investigations into the discovery would be sustained and shared with other security agencies to forestall any breach of peace in the country.

He assured the public that the corps would scale up its intelligence and surveillance operations to prevent security breaches in the state.