See how report found Nigeria Army guilty in clash with Shia group

– Nigeria Army has been accused of using excessive force against Shia group

– Kaduna State Judicial Commission of Inquiry found that the military killed over 300 Shia members

– Inquiry report says Nigeria Army lied about finding weapons on Shia group members

An official inquiry into clashes between members of a Shia minority group and the Nigerian military by the Kaduna state government has accused the Army of using excessive force.

The report of the inquiry, which was carried out by the Kaduna State Judicial Commission of Inquiry, was released on Sunday, July 31 and it found that 349 members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) were killed during the clashes.

The report said that the Nigerian Army’s response to the altercations in Zaria, Kaduna state, between December 12 and 14, 2015 was “disproportionate”.

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It said that contrary to the army’s claims, no large cache of arms was found at any the five properties belonging to the IMN and its leader Sheik Ibrahim El Zakzaky.

According to the report, what was found were bows and arrows, catapults, sticks, and a few dane (local hunting) guns.

Although the Commission criticized the IMN for “widespread and habitual acts of lawlessness and defiance of constituted authorities across the nation”, it also condemned the army’s response as excessive.

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The report said soldiers had “shot their way through the blockade” set up by IMN members along the road to the group’s Hussainniya Baqiyyatullah mosque complex, killing seven IMN members, and injuring 11.

The Commission recommended that members of the military involved in unlawful killings and IMN members who participated in the soldier’s death should be brought to trial.

NAIJ.com recalls that on Saturday, December 12, 2015, a road which is the only artery out of Zaria, Kaduna state, towards Sokoto state, was reportedly obstructed by the Shiites.

Seconds after, Lt. General Buratai, the army chief’s convoy came down to negotiate a passage, but was unsuccessful.

According to the army, Lt. General Buratai himself then alighted from his vehicle to negotiate passage, and this was when the alleged stoning and murder attempt began.

It was when Buratai was allegedly hit that his security detail began shooting in the air to disperse the Shiites. Later reports suggested that over the following two days, the army attacked Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, the leader of the Shiites, at his residence.

Sources say there were gunshots and explosions through the day and night, and by the end of Sunday, December 13, reports came through that Muhammad Turi, Zakzaky’s deputy, had been killed.

The Shiite leader El-Zakzaky, his wife, a son and some other senior members of the group were later detained by the army.

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