According to Punch, an eyewitness who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that while the Shiite sect members were preparing for a protest, police operatives swooped on the sect members and dispersed the crowd.
The Shiites were said to have later regrouped at Tudun Nupawa, also within the same vicinity, where many of the sect members allegedly engaged the police in a shootout, leading to the death of three members of the sect while scores sustained serious injuries.
Another source at the Police Clinic said that no fewer than five policemen were brought into the hospital injured and in critical state.
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Shortly after the clash, the Minister of Interior, Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd.), led the Federal Government’s delegation to Kaduna State to assess the situation.
Dambazau, after a closed-door meeting with the state Governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, proceeded to Zaria where he warned religious bodies across Nigeria to refrain from activities that were capable of breaching public peace and order, advising them to show more respect for the rule of law.