Entertainer and activist, Charles Oputa, better known as Charly Boy, has explained why he joined members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) to protest the detention of their leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky.
The Shiite Islamic sect clashed with troops of the Nigerian Army in Abuja on Monday leading to the death of some of the protesters and injury to many more.
In a message sent to Qed.ng, the 67-year-old wondered why people were surprised he joined the protest.
“Na today?” he asked.
“I remember one of the great quotes of my great father. ‘Son wherever you see injustice, fight it for it may boomerang and chop your head off’.
“Shiites are part of the oppressed in Nigeria. Over 1000 of their members killed in cold blood.”
El-Zakzaky was arrested in 2015 after his members had a confrontation with the motorcade of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, in Zaria, Kaduna state.
Over 300 Shiites were killed by the army in that incident, killings that have been condemned by rights groups including Amnesty International.
Members of the sect have since organised series of protests in different parts of the country to demand the release of their leader.
The latest series saw them clash with troops in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) over the weekend.
On Sunday, the army confirmed that three members of the sect were killed on Saturday, while two soldiers sustained injuries when they clashed with troops at Zuba in the FCT.
The army also confirmed three sect members were killed and four soldiers injured in the Monday incident.
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja recently ordered the police to pay Charly Boy N50million as compensation for the violation of his rights to dignity of the human person, freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association.
Charly Boy had accused the police of harassing him and members of the OurMumuDonDo movement during the #ResumeOrResign protest in Abuja on August 8, 2017.
