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Nigeria State Orders Arrest of Banned Shiite Group Spokesman

by Associated Press

   LAGOS, NIGERIA --

   Officials have ordered the arrest of the spokesman of a newly outlawed
   Shiite Muslim group in northern Nigeria.

   Samuel Aruwan, special assistant to the governor of Kaduna state, on
   Sunday announced the arrest order for Ibrahim Musa, spokesman for the
   Iranian-inspired Islamic Movement of Nigeria.

   The announcement came two days after the state ruled the group was
   illegal.

   Aruwan said Musa flouted the order by identifying himself as the
   group's spokesman in statements over the weekend.

   A Kaduna state commission of inquiry recently said the Islamic Movement
   in Nigeria was responsible for provoking an attack in December 2015 on
   its headquarters, during which the army gunned down more than 300
   Shiites.

   The group's leader, Ibraheem Zakzaky, was shot seven times during the
   attack. He has been in custody since December.