Banned Nigerian Shi'ite group suspends street protests

KADUNA, Nigeria July 31 (Reuters) - A banned Nigerian
Shi'ite Muslim group on Wednesday said it had suspended a series
of protests calling for the release of its detained leader and
will temporarily seek other avenues to secure his release.
Nigeria banned the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) this
week and outlawed its demonstrations, after a week of protests
in which the group said at least 20 of its members were killed
in crackdowns by police. Police gave no death toll.
The group's leader, Ibrahim Zakzaky, has been held since
2015 when government forces killed around 350 people in a
storming of its compound and a nearby mosque.
"The Islamic Movement in Nigeria do hereby announce to the
general public and the international community that it has
temporarily suspended its Free Zakzaky street protests to allow
for some new openings into the resolution of the problems," it
said in a statement on Wednesday.
The government says IMN incites violence, and a court has
given the authorities permission to label it a terrorist
organisation. IMN denies it is violent, and says Zakzaky should
be released in line with a December 2016 court order.
IMN is the largest Shi'ite organisation in a country where
around half of the population is Muslim, overwhelmingly Sunni.
Nigeria considers some Islamist movements to be a security
threat after a decade combating the insurgency by Sunni Muslim
militant group Boko Haram in which 30,000 people have been
killed. The death of Boko Haram's leader in custody was one of
the events that set that group on a violent path.
"We sincerely hope an amicable way could be found to solve
the crises surrounding the illegal detention of our leader for
almost four years now," said IMN.
On Monday a judge adjourned a bail hearing for Zakzaky until
Aug. 5.