The Nigerian Police has stated that non-muslims are not banned from carrying out processions.
According to a statement on the official twitter handle of the force, only IMN members are banned from carrying processions.
This is coming after the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, IMN, help processions in Kaduna and Abuja.
The statement read: “The IGP has directed all CPs and their respective supervisory AIG of Police in Commands and Zones to give full effect to the above clarifications and ensure that non-IMN Muslims are not in any way restricted from exercising their freedom of religion, worship and peaceful assembly.
“Ban on procession, applicable to IMM members only. Non-IMN Muslims marking Ashura free to observe peaceful procession.
“Following the deluge of enquiries concerning the ban on procession on the proscribed Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), it has become absolutely imperative to clarify that the ban on processions is applicable to members of the proscribed Islamic Movement in Nigeria only.
“Against this backdrop, Muslims marking the commemoration of “Ashura” throughout the country along with other Muslims across the world are free to carry out the annual “Ashura” procession.
“They should, however, do so within the confines of the law and guard against infiltration by unscrupulous elements who may want to take advantage of the event to cause disruption of public peace, order and security.”
