In line with the deadly clashes between the Nigerian military and Shiite Muslims in Zaria, Sayyid, one of the sons of the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, Sheik Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, the sect’s deputy leader, Sheikh Turi Mohammed; his wife, Zeenat; as well as the spokesperson for the movement, Ibrahim Usman, Dr. Mustapha Sa’eed and Sister Jummai Gilima, were killed by the Nigerian troops.
This was confirmed by the Shite movement.
The deadly clashes erupted between the military and Shiite Muslims in Zaria, Kaduna state on Sunday after armed soldiers carried out crackdowns on the pro-Iranian Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) following an incident on Saturday involving the convoy of the chief of army staff.
On Saturday, Shiite faithful blocked the main road outside their Husseiniyya religious centre, where hundreds had gathered for a ceremony.
The crowds obstructed traffic, including the convoy of Nigeria army chief Tukur Yusuf Buratai, witnesses and the military said.
The army said IMN members, who set barricades and bonfires on the road, were armed with “dangerous weapons” in a “deliberate attempt to assassinate the chief of army staff and members of his entourage”.
The IMN, which seeks to establish an Islamic state through an Iranian-styled revolution, has been at loggerheads with Nigeria’s secular authorities, leading to occasionally violent confrontations.
The group’s leader, Ibrahim Zakzaky, has periodically been incarcerated for alleged incitement and subversion.
In its account of the violent confrontation between it and the military, the sect, in a statement by its spokesman, Ibrahim Musa said:
“Following alleged blockade of the route of the Chief of Army Staff by the members of the Movement, the Nigerian Army brutally descended on armless members of the Movement with heavy military weapons killing indiscriminately.
“In the mean time, leading members of the Islamic Movement and other members as well, have been killed by the soldiers including the leader of the Kano Center, Sheikh Muhammad Turi, Dr. Mustapha Sa’eed, Malam Ibrahim Usman and Sister Jummai Gilima.
“Also killed were Sayyid Aliy, the son of the leader of the Movement, Sayyid Ibraheem Zakzaky; the wife of Sayyid Ibraheem Zakzaky, Malama Zeenat Ibraheem and tens of other members as more are being killed as at the time of this release.
“The sporadic killings took place at three locations that included the residence of the revered leader of the Movement at Gyallesu, the Husainiyya Bakiyatullah at the GRA and the Darur Rahma located along Zaria-Jos road where many unarmed people were killed.
“The killing was so brutal at Gyallesu that even those injured in the shooting were identified and killed in cold blood by the soldiers.
And as at the time of writing this press release, the victims are in their hundreds, if not thousands. “Considering the gross violation of fundamental human rights and extra-judicial killings perpetrated by the Nigerian Army, the Islamic Movement hereby condemns these unjustifiable acts.
“We state categorically that the claim by the Army that members of the Movement attempted to assassinate the Chief of Army Staff was a blatant lie as the army came back to launch their attack more than an hour after the COAS had passed.
“Clearly, the Nigerian government through its military is now on rampage in an all out war with the Islamic movement, its members and structures.
The scale of this attack would suggest it was meticulously planned by authorities and now being executed ruthlessly. The alleged attack on COAS Burutai was just an alibi.
“Therefore, with all pointers at the government as the contractor of the killings, we hereby call on well meaning Nigerians and the international community to intervene and seek redress for the victims and their family members as many innocent people have unjustifiably been killed and many others severely injured.
“In the mean time, there is no idea as to the where about of the leader of the Movement, Sayyid Ibraheem Zakzaky nor his current condition, and aggrieved members of the Movement across the country have taken to the streets in protests”.
