Nigeria police orders clampdown on Shiite group after ban

Nigeria's police chief on Tuesday ordered a clampdown on a pro-Iranian Shiite group after it was banned by the government following a spate of bloody protests.

"Any person engaged or associating, in any manner that could advance the activities of the proscribed Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), shall be treated as a terrorist, enemy of the state, and a subversive element and shall be brought to justice," Mohammed Adamu told senior officers.

"The import of this is that all forms of procession or protest by IMN is now illegal and thus banned," Adamu said in comments released on Facebook.

He called for members of the public to provide information "that will aid in the identification of the locations of the IMN members and their mentors".

The government on Sunday announced it was banning the Shiite group after obtaining a court order declaring its activities "acts of terrorism and illegality".

The IMN, which takes its inspiration from Iran's Islamic revolution, has staged almost daily protests in the capital Abuja in recent months calling for the release of its detained leader Ibrahim Zakzaky.

At least six protesters, a journalist and senior police officer were killed last Monday as security forces clashed with demonstrators.

Human Rights Watch warned Tuesday that the ban "may portend an even worse security force crackdown on the group" and urged the authorities to reverse it.

Zakzaky has been in custody since he was arrested in December 2015 following violence that rights groups say saw the army kill some 350 of his followers.

In October last year, the IMN and human rights groups said more than 40 people were killed when the security forces opened fire on protesters.

The IMN has looked to ramp up pressure on the authorities amid fears for the health of the group's leader.

Zakzaky has been held along with his wife Zeenah Ibrahim despite the federal high court ordering their release in 2016.

The government refused and filed fresh criminal charges, including culpable homicide that is punishable by death.

The IMN, which emerged as a student movement in the late 1970s, has close ties with Shiite Iran.

The group has faced hostility in Nigeria, especially in the predominantly Sunni Muslim north of the country, where religious elites are allied with Saudi Arabia.