Several persons are feared dead and dozens of others injured after protesting members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) clashed again with troops of the Nigerian Army, this time at  Nyanya, a suburb of the nation’s capital, Abuja on Monday.,

People & Power gathered that trouble started when the protesters, comprising mainly of youths and women ignored orders from the troops not to breach a barricade they had erected close to a military check point along the Mararaba-Abuja Expressway.

The troops fired cans of teargas and live bullets at the defiant protesters who had crossed the barricade which was meant to prevent them from taking their protest into Abuja main city.

The protest by the sect, which was in its third consecutive day took the form of a peaceful march by hundreds of members of the sect including children and nursing mothers with children strapped to their backs. They were demanding the immediate release of their leader, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenat, both detained by the Federal Government despite several courts ordering their release.

As at the time of filing this report, security agencies were still trying to restore normalcy as well as clear the traffic gridlock caused by the ensuing pandemonium as commuters and pedestrians scampered for safety.

Meanwhile, residents, especially those living at Kugbo, Nyanya, Karu, Mararaba, Masaka and Keffi have been warned to stay away until the situation is brought under control.

On Sunday, three members of the sect were  killed  at Zuba by Nigerian troops for allegedly attacking a military convoy which was escorting missiles and other ammunitions to the Army Central Ammunition Depot in Kaduna State.