For members of the outlawed Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) commonly called Shia, December 12 through 14, 2015, would go down as bleak days.
Operatives of the Nigerian Army clamped down on Shia Muslims, led by grand Nigerian Shia leader, Sheikh Ibrahim Elzakzaky, in ancient Zaria city while on procession to commemorate 2015 Quds Day.
A coordinated attack on Hussainniya Baqiyyatullah Mosque, Gyellesu, Elzakzaky’s residence and burial ground of the pro-Iranian Shia sect – Daral-Rahma and other strategic strongholds of the Shia sects within Zaria – resulted in the death of about 350 persons including women and children, according to Amnesty International in its post-incident report of the massacre.
Amnesty International further uncovered that the army buried the victims in mass graves in Kaduna without the permission or consent of relatives, describing the action as a deliberate cover-up by the army.
Prominently, Sheikh Elzakzaky and his wife were severely wounded, arrested, detained and arraigned before a Federal High Court.
Sheikh Elzakzaky and wife remained in detention for nearly seven years. A Federal High Court acquitted and released the duo in July 2021.
The IMN leader was charged with alleged aiding and abetting homicide, unlawful assembly and disruption of public peace.
Justifying the excessive use of force against the Shia members, the army alleged that the defunct IMN members attempted to attack the moving convoy of then Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Tukur Yusuf Burutai.
Protesters seemed to be taking positions close to the back of the convoy, the Nigerian Army claimed.
Similarly, the army accused the Shia Muslims of killing one of its personnel, an allegation which the Amnesty International and other human rights groups refuted as baseless.
However, the action of operatives of the Nigerian Army negated key provisions of Principle 22 of the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, which states that “governments and law enforcement agencies shall ensure that an effective review process is available and that independent administrative or prosecutorial authorities are in a position to exercise jurisdiction in appropriate circumstances”.
Daniel Bekele, Africa Director at Human Rights Watch, said, “It is almost impossible to see how a roadblock by angry young men could justify the killings of hundreds of people. At best it was a brutal overreaction and at worst it was a planned attack on the minority Shia group,” adding, “the Nigerian military’s version of the event does not stack up.”
At the same time, the Federal Government doggedly insisted that “it was a military affair” the Kaduna State Government set up a committee of inquiry on 17 December 2015.
In its submission, the 13-member committee led by Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba stated that the IMN leader, Sheikh Elzakzaky, be personally held accountable for his inability to control the behaviour and actions of his members during the confrontation.
Similarly, the commission recommended that the Federal Government should identify and bring operatives of the Nigerian Army who took part in the coordinated killings to book.
“Considering the nature and organisational structure of the IMN, where the leader has total control over members, Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky should be personally held responsible for all the acts of commission and omission of the entire membership of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria with its clashes with Nigerian Army for refusing to call his members to order when required to do so,” the report of the committee read in part.
It continued: “The commission is of the view that the use of excessive force by the Nigerian Army, which led to the heavy casualties recorded in the cordon and search operation is an act of commission for which the Nigerian Army is directly responsible.
“The commission, therefore, recommends that steps should immediately be taken to identify the members of the Nigerian Army who participated in the killings of 12th-14th December 2015 incident with a view to prosecuting them.”
Eight years later, justice eludes members of IMN. The group continued to agitate for the prosecution of the executors.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, Professor Dauda Nalado, a member of IMN, said the group is ready to continue seeking justice for the blood of innocent Shia members shed in the massacre.
“We would like to once again reiterate our call for justice for the masterminds and executors of the Zaria massacre to be brought to account,” he said.
