ABUJA: Nigerian police said on Saturday they had come under intense gunfire a day earlier in a neighborhood of the capital, Abuja, during clashes between security forces and Shiite Muslim protesters that led to several reported deaths.
Nigeria has a history of deadly clashes between security forces and members of the banned Shiite Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), which advocates for the peaceful establishment of an Islamic state in Africa’s most populous nation.
On Friday, dozens of the group’s members marched in solidarity with Palestine, but violence broke out when they clashed with soldiers and police.
Critics say Nigerian security forces have increasingly resorted to using force, including live ammunition, to quell protests, and that this could radicalize groups like IMN.
Police in a statement on Saturday accused the protesters of “a violent assault” on security personnel armed with firearms and other lethal weapons in Abuja’s Wuse 2 neighborhood.
“Police and security personnel encountered intense gunfire from the attackers, resulting in the serious injury of three security operatives,” said Josephine Adeh, police spokesperson for Abuja.
One member of the security forces had died and 19 suspects had been arrested, he said.
Videos circulating on social media platform X showed protesters waving a Palestinian flag and throwing stones at an army vehicle, followed by the sound of gunfire.
Sidi Munir Sokoto, a senior IMN member blamed the military for the violence, saying the protest was peaceful. He put the death toll at five.
“This was the military. The (military) leadership must explain why this happened,” Sokoto said.
An army spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Isa Sanusi, head of Amnesty International Nigeria, called for an impartial investigation.
“The army used live ammunition on the protesters. It appears they approach IMN protesters always with the intent to kill,” Sanusi told Reuters, also putting the death toll at five.
Shiite protesters clash with Nigerian military, police in Abuja
https://arab.news/59qky
Shiite protesters clash with Nigerian military, police in Abuja
- Critics say Nigerian security forces have increasingly resorted to using force
- Police in a statement on Saturday accused the protesters of “a violent assault” on security personnel
White House steps up attacks on CNN
- Communications director Steven Cheung calls CNN cowardly for not inviting Trump adviser Stephen Miller to be interviewed
- On Wednesday, President Donald Trump accused a CNN journalist of being “an arm of the Democrat Party”
WASHINGTON: The White House on Thursday intensified its attacks on CNN, the news network at the center of a financial battle that President Donald Trump is tied up in politically and through family.
Echoing the president’s frequent anti-media barbs, senior members of his administration lashed out.
“CNN = Chicken News Network,” White House communications director Steven Cheung wrote on X Thursday, calling CNN cowardly for not inviting Trump adviser Stephen Miller to be interviewed “presumably because they are scared Stephen will school them.”
Vice President JD Vance then shared the post, adding: “If CNN wants to be a real news network it should feature important voices from our administration.”
A CNN spokesperson said Miller would be welcome back on the channel, Fox News reported Thursday.
“As a news organization, we make editorial decisions about the stories we cover and when, and that depends on the news priorities of the day. We look forward to having Stephen on again in the future as the news warrants,” the CNN spokesperson was quoted as saying.
The harshest attack on CNN from the Trump administration came from an official White House account called Rapid Response 47, which went after Kaitlan Collins, one of the network’s most prominent correspondents, saying she “is not a journalist. She is a mouthpiece for the Democrat Party.”
On Wednesday, the president confronted another CNN journalist similarly, and said “you know you work for the Democrats, don’t you? You are basically an arm of the Democrat Party.”
CNN has yet to comment publicly on those allegations. In the past, the network has responded to criticism of political bias by asserting that it is committed to objective journalism and fairness.
CNN for sale
Founded in 1980 to provide global television news coverage, CNN is currently owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, the media conglomerate at the heart of a bidding war between streaming giant Netflix and Paramount Skydance, the latter of which is led by CEO David Ellison, son of Trump ally Larry Ellison.
The president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner has joined Paramount’s bid through his investment firm.
And Trump has already indicated he intends to get involved in the government’s decision to approve or block a sale, which would typically involve the Justice Department.
Under Paramount’s offer, CNN would fall into Ellison’s hands.
Under the Netflix deal, Warner Bros. Discovery would sell off CNN and other cable news properties separately before closing the sale of its studio and streaming operations.
The 79-year-old president said Wednesday he wants to ensure CNN gets new ownership as part of the Warner Bros. Discovery sale, seeming to favor a Paramount purchase.
“I don’t think the people that are running that company right now and running CNN, which is a very dishonest group of people, I don’t think that should be allowed to continue. I think CNN should be sold along with everything else,” Trump said.
