Nigerian troops on Monday evacuated in trucks the bodies of martyrs killed in the army crackdown against the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), with the group’s spokesman saying the leader, Sheikh Ibrahim al-Zakzaky was injured.

Nigerian troops on Monday evacuated in trucks the bodies of martyrs killed in the army crackdown against the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), with the group’s spokesman saying the leader, Sheikh Ibrahim al-Zakzaky was injured before being arrested.

The army committed massacre on Saturday against the IMN, killing dozens of faithful who were attending a religious ceremony in Hussainiyyah Baqeeyatullah in the northern city of Zaria. Early on Sunday, the army raided Sheikh Zakzaky’s house, arrested him and killed several members o the group.

"We have reports that bodies of our members killed outside the house of our leader are being evacuated in trucks by soldiers," IMN spokesman Ibrahim Musa told AFP.

Musa said the victims of the raid included his wife, son and the former IMN spokesman.

"We can't give a precise figure of the deaths but it is huge given the number of the members that answered the call to protect the house from the invading soldiers," he said.

He said Sheikh Zakzaky had been unable to leave the house "because of the gunshot wounds he sustained in the indiscriminate fire soldiers opened on the house and his followers who tried to protect it," he said.

"We gathered he was taken to Kaduna (70 kilometers, 45 miles away). We got in touch with the medical doctor that is treating him who confirmed to us that our leader is critically ill from four gunshot wounds he sustained," Musa said.

"He was shot at four times, this the doctor confirmed," he told AFP.
Witnesses also spoke of soldiers removing bodies around Sheikh Zakzaky's house.

"This morning, soldiers started evacuating corpses of followers of Sheikh Zakzaky in trucks for possible disposal," resident Bashir Bello told AFP.

"A large number of his followers were gunned down around his house on Saturday through Sunday morning where they had congregated to protect the house from military invasion," he said.