By Andrew Agbese,
Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El Rufai has explained why he had to move against the Islamic Movement in Nigeria(IMN) saying the movement was operating illegally and was moving towards insurgency.
He said the IMN leader, Sheikh Ibraheem El Zakzaky was not practicing the doctrine of Shiism but was gathering enough members in order to stage an Iranian-type Islamic revolution in Nigeria.
El- Rufai who spoke with newsmen in Kaduna, said there were many things wrong with the way the IMN was operating and that only those who were ignorant of their operations would sympathize with them as they do not mean well for Nigeria.
“The IMN does not recognize the constitution of Nigeria. They do not recognize Buhari as president. They do not recognize me as governor of Kaduna state, they had their own governor in Tudun Wada, ’’ he stated.
The governor added that the IMN has a paramilitary wing which they call ‘’Hurras’’ that bears arms in violation of the Nigerian laws while the IMN members do not accept that any law in Nigeria applies to them.
‘’Because they do not recognize any law in Nigeria, IMN is not registered with Corporate Affairs Commission. So, they cannot be sued or held responsible for their actions. They build anywhere they find land, they do not even bother to apply for land titles,’’ he added.
The governor explained that he did not proscribe the practice of Shiism in his state but was particular about IMN because they are the only group in the sect that does not recognize constituted authority other than theirs stressing that he only invoked the powers conferred on him by the penal code which was enacted in 1963, to declare IMN an unlawful.
