The Iranian protesters demanded for El-Zakzaky's release and an end to the oppression of Shiites.
A group of Iranian Shia Muslims have urged the Nigerian government to stop the oppression of fellow Shia Muslims in Nigeria and demanded the release of Shia spiritual leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky.
Members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), also called Shiites, have been involved in several clashes with security agencies, most notably the Army, over demands for El-Zakzaky's release.
El-Zakzaky was arrested in Zaria, Kaduna in 2015 after soldiers killed over 300 members of the sect for allegedly throwing stones at the convoy of the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai, an act declared by the Army to be an assassination attempt.
During the invasion of his home, El-Zakzaky was arrested and imprisoned with his wife, Zeenah, without any official court charges until he was charged with unlawful gathering, criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide at a Kaduna High Court in May 2018.
According to the group of Iranian protesters, El-Zakzaky's imprisonment is an unjust persecution by the Nigerian state especially since a December 2016 court order by Justice Gabriel Kolawole of an Abuja Division of the Federal High Court had demanded his release, an order ignored by the government.
The protesters vowed that the Nigerian government would be overthrown and the country taught a lesson if the oppression of Shiites doesn't end.
The leader of the protest said, "The judge of Nigeria ordered to free them freed but the government didn't listen to that and so we are calling on them to free free Zakzaky.
"The government of Nigeria should know that it cannot keep Zakzaky forever in the detention and in jail. In Sha Allah, by overthrowing the government of Nigeria, we will free Zakzaky and teach a good lesson to them."
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Dozens of Shiites killed in clashes with Army
400 IMN members were arrested by officers of the Nigeria Police Force for disturbance of public peace and law and order in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Tuesday, October 30, 2018. They were alleged to have set a Police vehicle on fire, and arrested with 31 bottles of petrol bombs and other dangerous weapons.
A previous clash on Saturday, October 27, where the Army accused Shiite protesters of attacking a convoy carrying ammunitions, resulted in the death of three people, with a couple of soldiers also wounded.
The protesters returned on Monday, October 29 and got involved in another clash with the Army and the Police. While the Army reported that another three Shiites were killed, the Shia sect claimed around 50 were killed by troops.