Shiites/Police clash: FG responsible for avoidable deaths- Frank

A political activist and former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, has said that the numbers of death recorded at Monday’s violent clash between the police and the protesting shi’ite members are avoidable, calling on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to hold the Federal government responsible.

Reacting to the clash which led to the death of many shi’ite members, a Deputy Commissioner of Police and a staff of Channels Television, in a statement made available to newsmen on Tuesday, in Abuja, Frank advocated for unconstitutional release of Ibrahim El-Zakzaky to prevent the crisis from degenerating into more dangerous dimensions.

While commiserating with the families of a Deputy Commissioner of Police, Channels Tv staff and others who died during the violent fracas, Frank accused the Buhari administration of abuse of court process, saying the President has taken dictatorship to the Next Level.

The Bayelsa-born political activist said security strategy in a crisis situation must be targeted to calm the situation and not shooting at protesters, reminding that when he personally led a protest against the police in 2014 no single shot was fired at his group.

He warned against creating another terrorist group by deliberately disobeying court orders and refusing to release the leader of the Shiite by the APC government.

Frank who said it is the right of the Muslim group to demand the release of their leader from detention, added that “whether we like it or not, Shiites members are Nigerians, therefore Nigerians must condemn the clamp down on the group.

He called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to indict the IGP, the Chief of Army Staff and the President for consistently killings the protesting group.