EXCLUSIVE: Nigerian Police Detain Woman With One-Month-Old Baby In Suleja Prison Since March Over Participation In Shiites' Protest

The Nigerian police have continued to hold a nursing mother and her infant daughter in detention at the Suleja Correctional Centre, months after arresting them during a protest allegedly linked to the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), also known as the Shiites movement.

SaharaReporters gathered that the woman, identified as Jamila Ibrahim, was picked up at the Wuse Market in Abuja on March 28 while carrying her then one-month-old baby. 

The procession, which started peacefully at Usman Bin Affan Mosque in Wuse 2, Abuja, was violently disrupted by security forces using live ammunition. 

Jamila has reportedly remained in custody without trial or any formal charges brought against her since she was arrested during the procession. 

A family source, who spoke exclusively to SaharaReporters, said Jamila was never a member of the Shiites group but had joined the protest voluntarily on that day. 

According to the source, she was arrested without any notice to her family or husband and has since been thrown into Suleja prison, Niger State, along with her baby.

“The woman is not even a member of the Shiite movement. She only joined the protest in March voluntarily. Unfortunately, the police arrested her with her one-month-old baby that day,” the family source said.

“She was taken to the station without informing her husband or her family. Then she was transferred to the prison, and as I speak to you, she is still at Suleja prison with her baby. The police did not arraign her or charge her to any court.

“Let’s even say the police felt she committed an offence, what about her baby—an innocent soul? Both mother and child are currently languishing in Suleja prison.”

A member of the Shiites movement who confirmed the incident to SaharaReporters identified her as Jamila Ibrahim and said the family had reached out, seeking help.

“She is Jamila Ibrahim. Her family just called me and asked for a favour about her. They begged me to inform you that Fatima and her new baby daughter, who was just one month old at the time of arrest, are still in police custody,” the source said.

“She was arrested at Wuse Market on March 28. At that time, our people were out for protest, and she was at that location. Now police arrested her with her baby girl.”

Recall that the group,  the Resource Forum of the Islamic Movement under the leadership of Sayyid Ibraheem Zakzaky (H) earlier said it would hold the Guard Brigade of the Nigerian Army responsible for the attack on the 2025 Abuja International Quds Day procession, which left several protesters dead and many injured. 

The Islamic Movement in a statement described the incident as a deliberate attack on unarmed civilians expressing solidarity with Palestine.

“A few minutes after the commencement of the procession, a team of the HQ Nigerian Army (the Guard Brigade) attacked the Quds programme using live ammunition; many sustained gunshots and life-threatening injuries and some lost their lives as a result of the brutality,” the statement read.

The group also accused soldiers of desecrating Islamic and cultural values. “Apart from killing unarmed protesters, the army committed numerous atrocities, such as men arresting women in the premises of Usman Bin Affan Mosque, beating women and children and removing their hijabs within the outskirts of the mosque; these atrocities are taboo in Islam and Muslim culture,” they stated. 

Dismissing reports of a confrontation, the Islamic Movement insisted the protesters were peaceful. 

“Unlike other news reporters that reported the issue of clash or confrontation, there is no form of provocation from the participants warranting the brutality,” the statement said.

They linked the attack to a leaked letter from the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), dated 26 March 2025, which instructed security forces to take “necessary action” against the procession. 

“Since the release of this letter, the security agents, especially in the FCT Abuja, get prepared for the aforementioned atrocities committed in Usman Bin Affan Mosque,” the group alleged.

The statement also highlighted contradictions within the Nigerian government regarding its stance on Palestine. 

“The discordant in Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration is surprising. While speaking with Al-Jazeera in Doha, Qatar in March 2025, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tugar, Nigeria Minister of Foreign Affairs, stated that ‘Israel must stop its war on Gaza, and the World needs to drop its “double standards” over the killings in the besieged enclave.’ 

Then in March 2025 the National Security Adviser is directing the security agents to attack free Palestine protesters in Abuja.”

Providing casualty figures, the group confirmed that 380 protesters, including women and children, had been arrested and detained at SARS Abbator, Guzape, Abuja. It named four protesters who were killed: Shaheed Ibraheem Dalhat (Sharif Albani), Shaheed Nasir Abubakar, Shaheed Abdulaziz Abubakar, and Shaheed Auwal Abbas Bichi. 

“The number of casualties and corpses with the Guard Brigade and the Police are still unknown. Nevertheless, we will update the public in due course,” they stated.

The Islamic Movement said it would hold the Guard Brigade responsible for the attack and demanded accountability.