Human rights advocates have called for an investigation following the Nigerian army's raid on a Shiite sect in which hundreds of people were reportedly killed.
Details of the weekend violence in Zaria have been slow to emerge, with the three attacked areas of the northern town on lockdown as late as Tuesday, with no one allowed to enter or leave.
Amnesty International said in a statement late Tuesday that the shooting of members of the Shiite group in Zaria "must be urgently investigated ... and anyone found responsible for unlawful killings must be brought to justice."
"Whilst the final death toll is unclear, there is no doubt of that there has been a substantial loss of life at the hands of the military," said M.K. Ibrahim, director of Amnesty International, Nigeria.
The bloodshed was yet another blow to Africa's most populous nation, already beset by a 6-year-old insurgency waged by Boko Haram, a violent Islamic group which is at odds with the Shiites and others who oppose its extremist views.
Spokesman Ibrahim Musa of the Shiite Islamic Movement in Nigeria said soldiers on Monday carried away about 200 bodies from around the home of the head of the sect, Ibraheem Zakzaky — who was himself badly wounded and whose whereabouts have not been disclosed by the authorities — and hundreds more corpses were in the mortuary. Human rights activists said hundreds of people, perhaps as many as 1,000, were killed.
The army said troops attacked sites in Zaria after 500 Shiites blocked the convoy of Nigeria's army chief, and tried to kill him on Saturday. A report from the military police said some Shiites were crawling through tall grass toward Gen. Tukur Buratai's vehicle "with the intent to attack the vehicle with (a) petrol bomb" while others "suddenly resorted to firing gunshots from the direction of the mosque."
In a statement Monday, the army said there was "loss of lives as a result of the Shiite group members blocking roads and not allowing other passers-by to go about their lawful businesses and activities," and added that "as soon as order is restored ... the police will conduct an enquiry and the public will be informed."
Chidi Odinkalu of the Nigerian Human Rights Commission called the attacks "a massacre." The army said it has asked the rights commission to investigate the alleged assassination attempt on the army chief.
Odinkalu told The Associated Press that Zakzaky suffered four bullet wounds and that one of the sect leader's wives was killed in raids that began Saturday and ended Monday morning. He was quoting the family doctor. Two of Zakzaky's sons also were killed and one was wounded, according to Musa.
Odinkalu and other human rights activists said there are hundreds of bodies at the mortuary of the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital on the outskirts of Zaria.
"Citizens must ask, who ordered this carnage?" Odinkalu tweeted.
Outraged Nigerians took to social media to condemn "trigger-happy troops" and "extra-judicial killings."
Iran, seen as the guardian of the Shiite Muslim faith, condemned the killings.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari. Iran state TV said Rouhani told Buhari he expects the Nigerian government to compensate families of the dead and injured victims.
Hundreds of Shiites protested in front of the Nigerian embassies in the Iranian and Indian capitals on Tuesday.
Nigeria's Shiites, a movement of millions started 37 years ago by Zakzaky, who dresses in the robes and turban of an Iranian ayatollah, often have clashed with police and other security forces over their unlawful blocking of major roads to hold religious processions.
Nigeria's military is infamous for its excesses. In 2009, Nigerian armed forces attacked Boko Haram's headquarters and killed about 700 people, including its leader.
The Shiites two weeks ago suffered a suicide bombing in a procession that killed 22 people. Boko Haram, a Salafist group, claimed responsibility for the attack and threatened to "wipe out" the Shiites opposed to its radical vision of Islam.
AP
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Video - Islamic movement in Nigeria says army attacked defenseless people
More details are emerging of this weekend's clash between the Nigerian army and a minority Muslim group in the country's north. The army claims the group, known as the Islamic Movement, tried to assassinate its chief of staff. The group's denied that and says the army killed hundreds of its followers. A local hospital says it has at least 60 bodies in its morgue.
Former national security adviser Sambo Dasuki charged over $68 million fraud
Nigeria's ex-national security adviser has appeared in court, charged over an alleged $68m fraud.
Sambo Dasuki was charged on 19 counts of fraud, money laundering and criminal breach of trust at the high court in the capital Abuja.
He pleaded not guilty on all counts.
Mr Dasuki is accused of illegally transferring $50m from the national security budget to fund election campaigns for members of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan's party.
President Muhammadu Buhari ordered his arrest two weeks ago, after a government investigation alleged that $2bn (£1.3bn) meant to buy arms to fight Boko Haram had gone missing.
He is the most senior official to be arrested as a result of an investigation into arms procurement during the administration of Mr Jonathan, defeated by Mr Buhari in the March 2015 elections.
A government investigation found that Sambo Dasuki had awarded "ghost contracts" to buy 12 helicopters and four fighter jets which never materialised. He also denies those allegations.
BBC
Sambo Dasuki was charged on 19 counts of fraud, money laundering and criminal breach of trust at the high court in the capital Abuja.
He pleaded not guilty on all counts.
Mr Dasuki is accused of illegally transferring $50m from the national security budget to fund election campaigns for members of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan's party.
President Muhammadu Buhari ordered his arrest two weeks ago, after a government investigation alleged that $2bn (£1.3bn) meant to buy arms to fight Boko Haram had gone missing.
He is the most senior official to be arrested as a result of an investigation into arms procurement during the administration of Mr Jonathan, defeated by Mr Buhari in the March 2015 elections.
A government investigation found that Sambo Dasuki had awarded "ghost contracts" to buy 12 helicopters and four fighter jets which never materialised. He also denies those allegations.
BBC
Monday, December 14, 2015
Video - Nigerian government to give $25 a month to jobless Nigerians in 2016
Unemployed youth in Nigeria are due to start receiving 5000 Naira, just about 25 dollars a month, if the government's compensation plan for 2016 is approved. An estimated 40 million youth can't find work in Nigeria and the government says it will start paying the monthly stipend besides its attempts at creating employment opportunities.
Leader of the Islamic movement in Nigeria Sheikh Zakzaky wife and son killed
Nigeria's main Shia Muslim sect says the wife and son of its leader have been killed in clashes with the military in the northern Kaduna state.
The clashes came after allegations that members of the sect had attempted to assassinate Nigeria's army chief.
The leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky, was also arrested in his home.
The IMN denies the allegation, and says soldiers killed at least 20 of its members.
The army says members of the sect attempted to assassinate its chief of staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai, on Saturday when his motorcade was passing through a Shia procession.
But the IMN says the Nigerian army opened fire on their members.
The Islamic Human Rights Commission said on Sunday that before Sheikh Zakzaky's arrest, the military had parked two tanks outside his home.
The sect alleges that Sheikh Zakzaky's wife, Zeenat Ibraheem, was killed, along with the couple's son Sayyid Ibraheem Zakzak.
Last year, three of Sheikh Zakzaky's sons were killed in clashes between the army and pilgrims in a procession.
The group wants to set up an Islamic republic and has frequently clashed with the army.
It is also opposed to the Sunni Muslim jihadist group, Boko Haram, which recently attacked its members.
Boko Haram condemns Shias as heretics who should be killed.
In November, a suicide bomber killed at least 21 people in an attack on a Shia Muslim procession in Kano state.
Most of Nigeria's Muslims are Sunnis, and there are underlying tensions between them and Shia Muslims, correspondents say.
BBC
The clashes came after allegations that members of the sect had attempted to assassinate Nigeria's army chief.
The leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky, was also arrested in his home.
The IMN denies the allegation, and says soldiers killed at least 20 of its members.
The army says members of the sect attempted to assassinate its chief of staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai, on Saturday when his motorcade was passing through a Shia procession.
But the IMN says the Nigerian army opened fire on their members.
The Islamic Human Rights Commission said on Sunday that before Sheikh Zakzaky's arrest, the military had parked two tanks outside his home.
The sect alleges that Sheikh Zakzaky's wife, Zeenat Ibraheem, was killed, along with the couple's son Sayyid Ibraheem Zakzak.
Last year, three of Sheikh Zakzaky's sons were killed in clashes between the army and pilgrims in a procession.
The group wants to set up an Islamic republic and has frequently clashed with the army.
It is also opposed to the Sunni Muslim jihadist group, Boko Haram, which recently attacked its members.
Boko Haram condemns Shias as heretics who should be killed.
In November, a suicide bomber killed at least 21 people in an attack on a Shia Muslim procession in Kano state.
Most of Nigeria's Muslims are Sunnis, and there are underlying tensions between them and Shia Muslims, correspondents say.
BBC
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