IMN to NSGF: Prioritize Mass burial of 347 corpses not JCI

Abdulmumin Giwa

The Islamic Movement in Nigeria IMN has advised the Northern States Governors Forum NSGF to prioritize the disturbing issue of mass burial of 347 of its members instead of calling on it to cooperate with the JCI.

“What we had expected the NSGF to have dwelt up is not our absence from the proceedings of the Commission but the disturbing facts emanating from the confessions of the Kaduna state government in the mass burial of 347 people and the denial of such a war crime by the soldiers involved” the statement said.

This is contained in a statement signed today by Ibrahim Musa, the president of the Media Forum of the movement responding to a call made by the NSGF to IMN to cooperate with the JCI.

Following this revelation of mass burial the movement stated that there are still over 400 persons that are still missing since the pogrom which should be of concern to the NSGF even as the Army is claiming it handed over “a few corpses” for burial to the state government.

“The Islamic Movement sincerely believes it is not too late for the NSGF to demand for the immediate release of Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky and other members of IMN in detention. It is only when victims of the military attack in Zaria are savoring their freedom just like their attackers that justice might be expected from any judicial commission of inquiry” the movement finally stated.

The statement further described the continued detention of the leader of the Movement, Sheikh Ibraaheem Zakzaky as the foremost reason why it stays away from the JCI, “among the reasons is the continued incarceration of the leader of the Islamic Movement, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky”.

The movement explained that it is only rational that its leader be released because the soldiers that perpetrated the Zaria killings are freely working the streets while he the victim is kept in detention.

In a related development the IMN has recently released a list of 780 missing persons since the December pogrom and 374 have been confirmed to have buried in a mass grave by the state government.

Amnesty International Senior Adviser on Crises, Donatella Rovera has stated recently in London that there might be some mass graves that have not been discovered because there are still about 350 persons still missing and they have not been seen in prison or any detention facility.

Re-New Shi’ite group disown el-Zakzaky Movement.

By Abdulmumin Giwa

I read with dismay from the Guardian newspaper and indeed other media that the Rasulul A’azam Foundation RAAF, has condemned the activities of Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky’s Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) and the clash with soldiers in Zaria last year, saying such action was unwarranted.

The group said the actions of the movement over years constituted security threat and are incompatible with the principles and philosophy of the Shiite origin.

We in the IMN are not in any way surprised by their actions because of what their character of shallow mindedness and gross myopia suggests.

Definitely, they are not safe from what befalls the IMN that is widely seen as a Shi’ite organization. By simply being Shi’ites they face the same agony as suggested in the speech of the Emir of Kano on the pogrom who declared Nigeria only for Sunni.

More so, the Saudi King congratulated the Nigerian president for killing Shi’ites describing them as terrorists simply because what was done was a Takfiri, Wahhabi Salafist agenda on Shi’ism and not IMN.

This suggests that the fight is not against IMN alone as a body but against Shi’ism as a faith and they are Shi’ites.

When they accuse IMN of Mut’a, Taqiyya, abusing the companions of the Prophet and upholding Ali AS above all the companions, they do it because they see it as Shi’ism and not IMN.

The RAAF would be most foolish to presume that if IMN is wiped away by the Nigerian government and they are left alone they would be free of the calumny.

The RAAF should have explained better that the Islamic Movement in Nigera IMN is not a sectarian organization like theirs. That is probably what they meant by IMN is not Shi’ite.

For the records, IMN is rather a Movement that carries along all faith inclinations and builds bridges between them. You could be Sunni, you could be Shi’ite and you could be Christian and still be part of the Islamic Movement.

IMN is not a secluded island for only those who subscribe to a particular faith. It is a Movement that unites all forms of people towards a particular focus of achieving fairness and justice to mankind irrespective of tribe, race, region or religion.

Unlike the perception of RAAF where they see Shi’ism as the only platform to practice Islam, the Islamic Movement sees it the other way: It sees it as Islam under which you could practice Shi’ism or Sunnism depending on you conviction.

IMN has the tendency of uniting and establishing a platform for peace and developmental progress of the country.

On the contrary, RAAF creates segregation, division and suspicion among Nigerians by their idea of sectarianism which is a negative concept that promotes intolerance, lack of understanding and division among people.

Definitely, Nigerians would choose to be IMN members than they would ever consider becoming sectarian bigots that will be castigating one another.

We know that the RAAF might have been hired by some interested apparatuses to castigate the Islamic Movement which has given them the cover to dare say they are Shi’ites in the midst of extremist takfiri, Wahabis in Nigeria over the years.

IMN is not a sect, it is Islam under which you can practice your school of thought be it Sunni or Shi’I and believe in your religion be it Islam or Christianity.

IMN is the hope for the threatened diversity of Nigerians who see themselves as sectionalists, tribalists or religious sectarianists. It unites them and give them a purpose and a course that would free them from the continued exploitations by global imperialism that has subjected them to living under instituted poverty.

The ideals of the IMN is the hope for Nigerians and not the RAAF’s sectarian mentality.

Army killed over 1000 people in Zaria –Abdulqadir Yaqoub

By Abdulmumin Giwa

The Nigerian Army is said to have killed over 1000 people including none followers of Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky when it launched a coordinated attack on the Islamic Movement in Nigeria in December last year.

This was disclosed by Sheikh Abdulqadir Yaqoub, the elder brother of Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky in an interview with the popular Hausa newspaper Almizan.

Sheikh Abdulqadir said “the number of people killed is over one thousand by people’s estimations in fact those killed are over a thousand from what transpired, everybody in Zaria knows that”.

The Sheikh explained that those killed included none members of the Islamic Movement passing by during the killing spree saying, “It was not only the followers of Sheikh Zakzaky that were killed, even innocent passerby were killed in cold blood. There were some bankers passing by that were killed. You know bank workers hardly close early from work. It is said that they too were killed in cold blood. I know a relation of Yariman Zazzau, Munir Jafaru that was just passing by and was shot by the soldiers. There are very many of such cases.”

He condemned the army brutality describing it as lacking civility and un-Islamic, “How can you attack and kill someone just like that? Even if one commits a crime he must be tried and prosecuted by a court of law before he gets killed. In Islam it is even forbidden to kill women during war, it is forbidden to kill women, old people and small children” he said.

He added, “What we know of civility in Islam is that even if someone does something wrong that would attract a death sentence, you don’t just attack him and kill him. He has to be arrested and taken to a court of law and be sentenced to death by the court.”

 

He further explained, “Islam is well organized and would not allow such brutality and incivility. In Islam you don’t just kill people like that you have to take him to court and get him prosecuted first and if he is sentenced to death then he will be executed accordingly. You cannot just go and kill someone and claim that you killed him because he deserves to be killed. This cannot happen under the Islamic system because the system is well organized.”

 

On whether he would make a submission to the Judicial Commission of Inquiry set up by the Kaduna state government on the pogrom he expressed lack of confidence in the commission giving his reasons as the negligence by the authorities in implementing the findings of such commissions.

“One thing in this country is that once you are oppressed the best is to leave it to God. Several commissions of inquiry have been formed in the past that have ended up with nothing. They have never been effective. For instance in the past when I was working in Southern Zaria during the Zangon Kataf and Kafanchan crises the same commissions were formed to look into the crises but nothing has been heard of the outcome since then and many people were killed but nothing was done” he said.

Contrary to his half-brother Sheikh Sani Yaqoub who supported what the Army did, Sheikh Abdulqadir said he is most worried and disturbed about what befell Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky  saying, “I am most disturbed and worried about the attack.”

 

He advised the authorities to always adopt the right procedures in whatever actions they take to avoid unwanted destruction of lives, “My call is that whatever happens, an investigation should be made. If a person does something wrong that he deserves to be punished it should be investigated with civility and not just clampdown on people and kill them incessantly” he said.

 

He condemned those supporting the Army brutality and describing it as a jihad saying it has nothing to do with the Islamic jihad, “Some dumb-minded are claiming that what happened was a jihad, there is indeed a jihad in Islam but it has its rule and regulations. They can’t just go and kill innocent people and you claim that it is jihad. Whatever involves life of a human being is not to be joked with.”

 

He further warned of the danger of shedding innocent blood explaining that it causes a lot of disaster to humanity saying “Indiscriminate killing of human beings causes a lot of disasters. Whatever his crime, even if he deserves to be killed, he must be convicted of the crime and prosecuted by a court of law and not just be killed at will. If he is able to defend himself that’s all and if not then he gets prosecuted and executed. How can you go and kill people just like that?”

 

Sheikh Abdulqadir, the eldest brother of Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky described Sheikh Zakzaky as an intelligent and a gifted person that is a rare gem “He is a kind of those people described as a gift from God. You can gather thousands of people and will not find his match. He is gifted and most intelligent. He is one of the few people that God has blessed with wisdom. He is also very knowledgeable and understanding when it comes to learning” he said.

IMN debunks Army’s condemnation of Amnesty

Abdulmumin Giwa

Islamic Movement in Nigeria IMN, has called on the Nigerian Army to address the facts brought up by the human rights organization, Amnesty International on the December 2015 Zaria pogrom that led to the killing of many of its members.

This is contained in a press statement signed by the President of the Media Forum of the Islamic Movement, Ibrahim Musa and made available to newsmen today.

IMN called on the Army to tell the Nigerian public the truth about what actually transpired instead of seeking to cover-up on its crime saying, “by now the army should be able to tell the Nigerian public how many civilians it murdered in Zaria.”

The statement accused the Army of incoherence in its submission on the pogrom and accused it of being economical with the truth. “From the highest ranking officer, COAS to the Major who appeared before the Kaduna state Judicial Commission of Inquiry were all incoherent in their testimonies of how many they gunned down in December. If they don’t have skeletons in their cupboard, why is the Army economical with the truth?” it stated.

President of the media Forum of the IMN also called on the Army not to justify the unjustifiable through paying huge sums of money in propaganda involving unknown NGOs that lack credibility and hired journalists without integrity.

He further reminded the Army to remain its secular self in defense of all Nigerians and desist from acting the script of Saudi Wahhabism against Shi’ite Islam.

It would be recalled that the Army spokesman Colonel Usman Kukasheka had issued a statement condemning the Amnesty International on its report on the Zaria pogrom

The Army spokesman accused the Amnesty of being biased, hasty and intruding into the internal affairs of Nigeria without providing any proofs to counter its report of the Amnesty.

Also a sponsored group sprang up casting aspersions on the person of the country Director of Amnesty International, Ambassador M.K. Ibrahim debunking the Amnesty report.

The statement further advised the Army as did the Amnesty International’s Senior Crises Response Adviser, Donatella Rovera, to focus on coming clean and own up to its crime here and at The Hague.

 

JCI/IMN: The unanswered questions

By Abdulmumin Giwa

I write this piece in response to an editorial of the Friday 22 April edition of the Daily Trust newspaper titled ‘Shocking Revelations of Army/Shi’ites clash’ where the IMN is called upon to participate in the JCI and possibly defend itself from what the paper sees as ‘shocking revelations’.

In my response I have provided reasonable facts that would deter anybody in the shoes of the IMN from even going anywhere close to the JCI.

The Kaduna state government had established a Judicial Commission of Inquiry JCI under Justice Muhammad Lawal Garba to look into what it termed the Army/Shi’ite clash of 12^th to 14^th December 2015.

In the process of announcing his intention to set up the commission, the state Governor Nasir El-Rufai, indicted the Islamic Movement in Nigeria IMN accusing it of blocking roads during its events, taking over primary school for a night during its annual trekking to Zaria, and also owning illegal buildings.

This indictment came after over 350 to 400 members of the IMN have either been shot dead, burned alive or women raped by Nigerian soldiers, with victims mass buried in the night as reports of investigation by the Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Islamic Human Rights Commission of London have shown.

Every right thinking person would have expected the commission to center its inquiry on the brutal killings due to the number of persons said to have been killed by the Nigerian Army during the incident. Instead the commission was set on a different agenda.

It was expected to over-look the brutal killings, mass burial, rape, human right abuse, use of excessive strength by the Army on unarmed civilians and indiscriminate murder of men women and children perpetrated by the Nigerian Army on the IMN.

This is evident in the terms of reference given to the commission that was only interested in knowing the historical evolution of the IMN and its source of finances.

It is clear from here that the Governor, El-Rufai, was only interested in justifying the genocide on members of the IMN as well as founding a cover-up for his crime against humanity having been fully involved in the massacre and not extracting the truth.

The composition of the commission is also made up of representatives from all parties to the said clash except the IMN. It is also garnished with sectarian sentiments as some known arch-enemies of the IMN who have in the past not only called for the extermination of the Shi’ites but have written books spreading lies and calumny against the IMN.

A call was made to that effect by the IMN that fell on deaf ears. The IMN went as far as mentioning names of those who have for long shown enmity and hatred towards the IMN that were placed in the commission and also called on the government to establish an independent inquiry that must include reputable human rights organizations like the Amnesty International and others as well as representatives of the IMN.

It now becomes clear that the JCI was not set to resolve the matter and make reasonable suggestions in its outcome but to indict, condemn and demonize the IMN.

Despite this, the IMN made efforts by allowing its lawyers to go to the commission to state these facts and others in order to untie the knots. This led to five adjournments of the JCI sittings without any success. All the JCI was interested in was for the IMN to submit a memo in order to establish its integrity and not to investigate the killings.

In event of the Nigerian Army attack on the Gyallesu residence of the leader of the Movement Sheikh IIbraheem Zakzaky, he was shot severally at gun point, his three sons were murdered by the soldiers as he watched, his wife was shot severally some compounds in his house were set ablaze by the Army and some of his followers including his senior sister were burned alive and he was finally abducted and kept incommunicado without proper healthcare despite his condition.

As a result of this inhumanity by the Nigerian government and its Army as well as the Kaduna state Governor, the lawyers of the Movement demanded that access be allowed to the leader of the Movement to get briefs from him if IMN is to be represented.

Secondly, the lawyers argued that Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky is the sole custodian of the Movement  and its documents, and should be allowed to lead the Movement to the JCI as do other parties involved including the soldiers and the government. They declined to this simple reasoning as well insisting that he be represented by a third-party.

Where is justice when the leader of the IMN that was attacked and shot severally is kept incommunicado and an inquiry is set disallowing him to give his own account?

More so, the Kaduna state government went round and mobilized all opponents and enemies of the Islamic Movement to submit memos before the JCI indicting the Movement, with some even sponsored, which is evident in the monotonous presentations made by those that have so far been cross-examined by the JCI.

They have also used journalists that have compromised their profession to report lies from the commission and over-look anything said in favor of the IMN. Notably amongst this is the way the media pretended not to have heard anything from Prof. Tahir Yahya who was cross examined for three hours as they reported the calumny by Prof. Abdullahi Mahdi who hardly spent thirty minutes before the JCI.

Asking why the IMN would not go before the ‘kangaroo commission’ has its answer in the following questions:

Why is the commission not independent?

Why have Shi’ites not been represented in the Commission?

Why is there no reputable human rights organization involved in the inquiry?

Why is the commission established by the Kaduna state government not the federal government?

Nasir El-rufai indicted the IMN before setting the commission if he knew the IMN was already guilty why establish the commission?

Why was there partiality in the appointment of commissioners who were carefully selected?

How could the state governor whose hands are stained with the blood of members of the IMN institute a commission to indict him of crimes against humanity?

Why is the commission not interested in hearing from the leader of the Islamic Movement Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky, being the person who was attacked by the Army?

Is Sheikh Zakzaky not under government custody? Why are they afraid of hearing his version of the story?

Why is the commission only interested in listening to a third-party from the side of the movement and not from Sheikh Zakzaky, the direct victim of the whole saga?

From what is transpiring in the commission, why has it derailed from inquiring into the incessant killings by the Nigerian Army and is only concentrating on issues of Shi’a and Sunna?

The commission has failed to raise questions on the killing and mass burying of 347 IMN members even after the Secretary to the State Government, SSG has shockingly revealed the secret as though those killed and mass buried were ants and not human beings simply because they are Shi’ites why?

The Kaduna state government is detaining close to 200 members of the IMN in Kaduna Central Prison abducted during the pogrom. It had also filed cases against them before court claiming that they were guilty of illegal assembly, possession of firearms, culpable homicide and others, what is the inquiry for since they are already guilty and charged to court?

Why did the lawyers of the commission lie to Sheikh Zakzaky when they met him in detention that they were independent lawyers instead of telling him the truth that they were representing the commission?

The answers to these questions are not farfetched; the reason for the commission is not to inquire into the killing but is part of the killing. It is to be used after the massacre to indict and demonize the movement. It is to be used to ban the IMN by associating it with violence which it is not. It is to be used to cover the crimes against humanity committed by the government and it’s Army from the eyes of the world and to justify the genocide.

More so, the commission is not after the submission of the IMN because it wants to be just and fair, but is simply after raising its integrity so that it can produce a final report that will have dignity in the eyes of the public. The commission is set out to crucify the IMN and not to inquire into the genocide which already it is not doing.

Is it this commission that you want the IMN to go to?

Mass burials: 350 more Shi’ites might have been buried secretly –AI

By Abdulmumin Giwa

In addition to the 347 members of the IMN confirmed to have been buried in mass graves by the Kaduna state government after being brutally massacred by the Nigerian Army, another 350 are feared to have suffered the same fate.

This was stated by the Senior Crises Response Adviser of the Amnesty International AI, Donatella Rovera in a response to a statement condemning the AI and accusing it of being biased by the Nigerian Army.

Speaking to IBTimes UK, Rovera explained that in addition to the 347 people allegedly killed and dumped in mass graves, another 350 have gone missing and have not been found either in the hospitals or in prisons.

She explained that these people are feared killed with allegations of additional mass graves in other secrete sights.

The Amnesty International Senior Adviser stated that families of the victims are entitled to have their grievances addressed and the Nigerian Army is not doing that.

It would be recalled that the IMN published 750 names and profiles of its missing members a few weeks after the pogrom saying that they were still compiling. The IMN also stated that those on the list were either killed or in military detention facilities.

On the Judicial Commission of Inquiry set up by the Kaduna state government to investigate the said Army/Shi’ites clash, Rovera hoped it is doing its own investigation with necessary independence and impartiality.

She added that the reports of the findings of the Amnesty International that have been made public after several months since the incident would help the work of the commission.

She further explained that the Nigerian Army has committed additional crime by burning bodies and mass burying them and also demolishing the places where the massacre took place in order to cover up saying, “they are really in no place to speak about what is appropriate and what is not”.

Rovera called on the Nigerian Army to “focus on coming clean and telling the truth and speeding up the process that can hopefully lead to the families of the victims getting justice and reparation and those responsible be held accountable”.

In its report, the Amnesty International revealed that the Army after massacring the IMN members blocked roads leading to the scenes and cleaned blood on the streets removed bullet shells and all possible traces to the crime to hide it.

Mass burials: 350 more Shi’ites might have been buried secretly –AI

By Abdulmumin Giwa

In addition to the 347 members of the IMN confirmed to have been buried in mass graves by the Kaduna state government after being brutally massacred by the Nigerian Army, another 350 are feared to have suffered the same fate.

This was stated by the Senior Crises Response Adviser of the Amnesty International AI, Donatella Rovera in a response to a statement condemning the AI and accusing it of being biased by the Nigerian Army.

Speaking to IBTimes UK, Rovera explained that in addition to the 347 people allegedly killed and dumped in mass graves, another 350 have gone missing and have not been found either in the hospitals or in prisons.

She explained that these people are feared killed with allegations of additional mass graves in other secrete sights.

The Amnesty International Senior Adviser stated that families of the victims are entitled to have their grievances addressed and the Nigerian Army is not doing that.

It would be recalled that the IMN published 750 names and profiles of its missing members a few weeks after the pogrom saying that they were still compiling. The IMN also stated that those on the list were either killed or in military detention facilities.

On the Judicial Commission of Inquiry set up by the Kaduna state government to investigate the said Army/Shi’ites clash, Rovera hoped it is doing its own investigation with necessary independence and impartiality.

She added that the reports of the findings of the Amnesty International that have been made public after several months since the incident would help the work of the commission.

She further explained that the Nigerian Army has committed additional crime by burning bodies and mass burying them and also demolishing the places where the massacre took place in order to cover up saying, “they are really in no place to speak about what is appropriate and what is not”.

Rovera called on the Nigerian Army to “focus on coming clean and telling the truth and speeding up the process that can hopefully lead to the families of the victims getting justice and reparation and those responsible be held accountable”.

In its report, the Amnesty International revealed that the Army after massacring the IMN members blocked roads leading to the scenes and cleaned blood on the streets removed bullet shells and all possible traces to the crime to hide it.

The idiotic Envy of a thing

By Abdulmumin Giwa

Sheikh Sani Yakubu, a brother to Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky has now been turned into a joker by the Nigerian government and it’s Army in spreading calumny and demonizing as well as painting the person of the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria black in the eyes of the world.

In December 2015, after the massacre of 12^th to 14^th of IMN members by the Nigerian Army in Zaria and the subsequent abduction and detention of Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky, fearful of a public reaction, the Nigerian Army invited Muslim scholars and Imams to convince them that they were not against any religious sect with the incessant killing of IMN members.

This gathering which took place at the 1 Mechanized division of the Nigerian Army Kaduna received wide coverage in the media where the Army first presented Sheikh Sani Yakubu as a special guest at the occasion.

To him it was an opportunity to be heard and an opportunity to go beyond his locality unlike his brother Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky who was already an internationally respected personality by that time.

He displayed the best of his talents while addressing the guests in his position as a brother to Sheikh Zakzaky  that is happy with what befell his brother whose three children have been killed at gun point, his wife shot severally in the womb, he himself received several fatal shots and his residence demolished.

In his address he was unable to hide his naivety when he referred to Shi’ites and Christians as ‘Arna’ (unbelievers) in the presence of his host the General Officer Commanding the Army Division who is also a Christian.

He expressed hatred and enmity against his brother Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky who he condemned for being a Shi’ite while he reiterated to newsmen that Shi’ites were not Muslims and he had nothing to do with Sheikh Zakzaky.

Since then the government and Army have taken him as their joker any time they want calumny against Sheikh Zakzaky they bring him along; they have taken him to the Judicial Commission of Inquiry JCI set up by the Kaduna state government and is in the newspapers doing what he knows best.

His actions might surprise a lot of people who might be wondering what kind of a person he is that his own sentiment is thicker that his blood when it said that blood is thicker than water but there is nothing surprising about it, most especially as he is from Zaria.

It is inherent in a lot of people from Zaria to enter into competition with relations with whom they share the same father but different mothers. This kind of competition results to envy, jealousy and even hatred as in the case of Sheikh Sani Yakubu.

They even have a traditional name for this kind of competition which I personally describe as ‘idiotic envy’ among the Zaria people. They call it ‘Yan ubanci’ in Hausa.

‘Yan ubanci’ to them is that you must not only disallow your brother with whom you share only a father with different mothers to prosper but must also do your best to pull him down and out if possible.

It is sometime tragic and displeasing to see the way they behave among themselves and it is common in large family compounds, especially among the royals and scholars, in fact all circles of life. This idiotic envy comes in various other ways like between women sharing the same husband, between wives of two brothers and others.

This competition sometimes even extends from generation to generation.  There are live stories of people that have fainted when they heard that their brothers of the same fathers have bought cars or have gotten public appointments or have made some achievements or breakthrough in life. This is very common among them especially in Zaria.

Sheikh Sani Yakubu is just carried away by this Yan ubanci against his junior brother Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky and that is all. To him Sheikh Zakzaky has attained heights he might not dream of getting to in his life and an opportunity has come for him to pull him down.

The government and the Army exploit this as an opportunity to defame the revered leader of the Islamic Movement, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky by using his brother to deceive the public and present the Sheikh as so bad that even his own brother is against what he is doing.

But the truth is that there is another brother and even a sister of Sheikh Zakzaky that are disciples of Sheikh Zakzaky. What is even more interesting here is that there is a senior sister of Sheikh Zakzaky, Hajiya Fatima (Goggon Kaura) that is among those burned alive by the Nigerian army during the attack on the Sheikhs residence. She stood by the Sheikh and died protecting him inn her way.

Hence, the hypocritical publicity being given to Sheikh Sani Yakubu to show the world that he was in support of the genocide in order to justify their crime against humanity is only one of the several steps being taken by government and the army to absolve themselves of condemnations.

Those dailies and media outfits that have taken him to heights in their pages as he condemns his blood brother and supports the Army attack on IMN should equally remember that there is Sheikh Zakzaky’s senior sister that was burned alive defending her blood brother.

Words of Wisdom

“Africa as a continent is on the brink of a precipise as far as neo-colonialism is concerned. The Euro-American powers are the beneficiaries of the African resources and so they fight against all forms of awareness that will emancipate any of the African regions.
With the advent of the Islamic Republic of Iran, they invented and financed terrorist institutions like Al-Qaida and Taliban to paint Islam black and stop any possible permiation of the true revolutionary concepts of Islam in the world.
They believe that the advent of Sayyid Ibraheem Zakzaky (H) in Nigeria could possibly emancipate Nigeria and subsequently Africa would be freed of imperialism, a situation they see as unacceptable.
Hence, they decided to create Boko Haram to destabilise Nigeria and make it ungovernable, like they did in Somalia which has remained without governance for about 20 years now. The only solution to this is to rally behind the revolutionary leadership of Sayyid Ibraheem Zakzaky (H) to shame them and their whicked machinations, oust the existing system and establish fairness and justice to all irrespective tribe, region or religion”  -Abdulmumin Giwa

Zaria Massacre: NA, COAS, DG SSS, IGP, AGF sued

By Abdulmumin Giwa

A case has been filed against the Nigerian Army, Chief of Army Staff, Director-General SSS, Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General of the Federation before a Federal High Court in Abuja seeking the enforcement of the fundamental human rights of Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky.

This was made known by Barrister Festus Okoye who headed the IMN legal team in a Press Briefing in Kaduna today.

The suit is seeking an immediate and unconditional release of Sheikh Zakzaky, restraining the respondents from further arresting, detaining or harassing the Sheikh without lawful justification.

It further asked the honorable court to compel the respondents to jointly pay damages of two billion naira (N2bn) for illegal violation of his fundamental human rights.

Although a date for hearing in the case is yet to be fixed, the case was filed in Abuja on the 12^th of April 2016 demanding the enforcement of Sheikh Zakzaky’s fundamental rights to life, personal liberty, freedom of movement, dignity of the human person and right to private and family life.

This followed an earlier meeting between the legal representatives of the IMN led by Femi Falana SAN with the leader of the movement last week who the lawyers describe as being in a very critical condition of health in detention.

The lawyers stated that the leader of the movement now walks with a limp, has a completely damaged left eye and with a left hand that has lost its motor function due to the brutal attack on him at his Gyallesu residence in Zaria by the Nigerian Army last December.

Okoye described the continued detention of the leader of IMN as a gross violation and disregard to Nigerian constitution.

The suit contains eleven declarations that include the extra-judicial killing of his three biological sons Hammad, Humaid and Aliy during the attack, his illegal detention and refusal of access to proper medication in a very fatal situation.

A similar suit has also been filed in the name of his wife Malama Zeenat Ibraheem who the lawyers said was also shot three times in the stomach and two times in the thigh.

Barrister Maxwell Kyon, who was part of the team that received briefs from the leader of the Movement during their visit to him in Abuja said that the wife of the leader had bullets removed from her body forcefully without Anastasia with soldiers holding her.

Meanwhile, there are other cases pending for suit that include the enforcement of the rights over 200 members of the movement detained in Kaduna Prison amongst who are those with gunshots denied treatment.

Others include widows and orphans produced as a result of the killings and those shot by the Army during the attack.