By Abdulmumin Giwa
Buhari is the worst enemy of himself when he chose to become a heartless tyrant that is not concerned with the plight of his people, a celebrated imperialist stooge that has lost his patriotism and nationalism in the wilderness servitude to his imperialist masters.
He is worse than Pharaoh that he can extra-judicially kill over 1000 of his citizens in just 48 hours and keep mute for a fortnight on the matter while he is quick at condemning the killing of a gay in the streets of America in less than 24 hours to please his master.
He only wears the cloak of a Saint whereas the devil is more human than him. He is the Messiah of corruption that claims to be fighting corruption. Nigeria is now getting sick and sick the more because it is being ruled by a non-repentant oppressor that only believes in bloodshed.
He exemplifies the features of that self-made politician that when he talks he lies, when he promises he fails and when you trust him he betrays you, what Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) calls the three signs of a hypocrite.
Month: October 2017
Presidential Probe Panel on Army, Nigerians and the Army
Of recent as I was setting out for a spiritual trip visit Aba Abdullah Hussain bin Ali (AS) several people were approaching me with messages of prayers seeking the intercession of the Imam of Martyrs. Some young boys were asking me to pray for them to become medical doctors when they grow up.
A boy who is hardly four years old was asked what he wanted to become when he grows up and he laughingly said “I want to become a soldier so that I can kill everybody“ and everybody laughed and he later said he wants to become a medical doctor too like his brother to save people’s life.
This is the general mentality of most Nigerians about the Nigerian army. They see them as some terror laden killers that can kill at will. They o the other hand see themselves as some sort of gods especially when they are dressed in uniform.
Following the bad human rights image of the army in the eyes of the world especially human rights organizations that have profiled a lot of bad records of the Army who have at various times killed innocent unarmed civilians unprovoked, the issue was already affecting the Nigerian government.
Some Senators in the US have challenged the sales of arms to the Nigerian government sighting the Zaria killings as an example of the Army using such arms to kill unarmed civilians.
This was becoming too much for the Nigerian regime led by President Muhammadu Buhari one of whose major agenda is the claimed fight against terrorism.
To prove its sincerity of purpose concerning its ability to keep the Army within the confines of its constitutionally accepted rules of engagement, the presidency set up an investigative panel to look into abuses and violation of rules of engagement perpetrated by the Army.
Naturally, it is expected that a few of those who the Army have molested in one way or the other who come before the panel to lay their complaints including the Islamic Movement in Nigeria.
Actually the impression people are having of the Army is that they are above the law and nothing can be done to them no matter how they err.
This negative impression is born out of how the army came to the present level since the inception of the country. Starting from colonialism to independence, from independence to military rule and later when the military dropped their ‘Kaki’ and wore ‘Agbada’ to continue to remain in power
One is tempted to ask what positive contributions the army has given to the country outside the coup after coup, under-development and suppression of the public. They successfully slowed down the growth of the nation into a democratic giant in Africa. They ruled people by dictatorship and kept constitution and human rights aside. This has grossly affected the impression of the army on Nigerians.
Ordinarily Nigerians are supposed to see the army as a gallant body that protects the territorial integrity of the nation who they work hard to maintain through the taxes they pay to the government. But because of the impression they have imposed on the people they are seen as some wicked dictators that can kill them at will.
This is because the same colonial mentality with which the army was built and the same mentality with which it had survived since independence, no one would dare go the way of the army even if he has to give up his rights and dignity. This is simply because both the army and the public believe that those in uniform are above the law.
The ugliest part of it is that the army is more of the property of the Commander-in-Chief and he has the right to order them to kill anybody he doesn’t like at any time he wishes. A simple reference is that of the recent clampdown on the IMN in which women, children, infants were killed, some burned or alive and hundreds simply buried in mass graves and that is all as they see. Why? Because it is the army and its Commander-in-Chief that want them dead.
Everyone is aware of the mass murder of innocent civilians and no one dares says why because it was done by the Army.
They could molest anyone on the streets, beat him/her and even strip him/her naked simply because he/she is what the army calls ‘bloody civilian’. In fact even the police that Nigerians are still yet to believe that they are friends of the public are not safe from the army brutality.
Now these are some of the things the presidential panel is leaving out of its investigations and is concentrating more on complaints laid by people and groups. The army was set on a particular platform under a particular system that accepts the monster looking nature of the Army. For a long as that system under which the army is founded, which is also nurtured by colonial mentality, continues to exist, the negative impression about the army will continue to exist. This is because it is the system that accepts the army in its monster like nature. We need a different system that has a different impression about the army.
The ugly Nigerian system has a wrong impression of the army. The system, with its wrong and inhuman concepts provides for the people to be suppressed and molested into fearing the Army and seeing them as some sorts of zombies. Whereas the right thing to do should be that the people love, revere and respect the army for being the gallant men that are sacrificing to protect their territorial integrity.
In other words, the concept of the army the panel is investigating is based on what the system makes it to be like. Hence whatever the army does is a resultant of what that concept has made of it. That is to say the system provides for it to become the hunting dogs of those in power and kill their opponents for them under any pretext at all.
For instance, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky is a victim of Nigerian Army brutality. They shot him several times, shot his wife several times all at close ranges. Killed three of their sons (innocent minors), burned his elder sister and nephew alive, burned down his residence, abused his mother’s tomb and demolished his Islamic Center without any provocation whatsoever.
For the simple fact that the monstrous acts of crimes against humanity were all in the interest of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, it is now Sheikh Zakzaky the victim of the army atrocity that is being denied the right to be heard in public by the panel. The simple reason for this is to protect the interest of the suppressive army while the fundamental human right of the revered Sheikh is officially denied.
It is clear that the objective of the president is to kill Sheikh Zakzaky, disperse his followers, and ban the Movement all to satisfy some interests, in this case religion and politics. In some cases it could be tribal or sectional and so on and so on.
Hence, traditionally, nothing would follow the outcome of the panel because that is what the system provides for.
Even the Judicial Commission of Inquiry (JCI) indicted the army for disregarding its rules of engagement in its final report but nothing followed afterwards and they were not even mentioned in the whitepaper prepared by the state governor Nasir El-Rufai.
The aim and objective of setting up the presidential panel could be a move to cleanse the army of all its atrocities and ugly human rights records, by producing a report that will pint it into an Angel and probably even deny the army atrocities as false accusations just to achieve some political goals.
I don’t have any reason to hate the army should in case anybody thinks I do but I have every reason to hate the wrongdoings of the army and its negative concepts and public impression. Nigerians must rise against the misdoings and put the army where it constitutionally belongs.
Saudi Arabia Is The Real Sponsor Of Global Terrorism -American Senator.
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Richard Black, a Republican member of the Virginia State Senate, said the term terrorism has its roots in Saudi Arabia’s extreme and radical actions, describing Al Saud as “the real sponsor of global of terror”.
“On the contrary, ‘terrorism’ as that term is commonly understood, stems mostly from the actions of Saudi Arabia, which routinely promotes acts of terror through its radical madrassahs. Those madrassahs indoctrinate poor youth around the globe in the ultra-violent Wahhabi doctrines,” Sen. Black told the Tasnim news agency.
He stressed, “The real sponsor of global terror is Saudi Arabia, not Iran.”
Richard Black represents the 13th District encompassing parts of both Loudoun and Prince Williams Counties. He was previously a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1998 to 2006. Black was a career military officer. He served in both the US Marines and in the US Army JAG Corps. He served a total of 31 years active and reserve, rising from the rank of private to full colonel. He is a graduate of the US Army War College, Command and General Staff College, and Naval Aviator’s Flight School. Black served as a pilot in the US Marines during the Vietnam War, earning the Purple Heart medal. He flew 269 combat helicopter missions with HMM-362’s “Ugly Angels” squadron, which operated out of Ky Ha, Vietnam.
Following is the full text of the interview.
Tasnim: US President Donald Trump on October 13 refused to certify the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers. What is your take on his speech?
Sen. Black: President Trump’s refusal to certify the 2015 nuclear deal has caused considerable confusion and consternation around the world. The Joint Comprehensive Plan was not a treaty between the United States and Iran; it was an agreement among the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China, Iran, and the European Union. Once those parties agreed, the deal was sanctioned by a unanimous vote of the UN Security Council. Except for the United States, no other nation appears willing to withdraw from the agreement. UN Ambassador Nikki Haley announced that even the US would remain in the deal for the time being. However, the President has asked Congress to express its views on the agreement, and the US Senate appears almost evenly divided on the issue. So at this point, no one knows whether the US Congress will agree to modify the plan of action. Furthermore, it is unlikely that the other signatories from Europe, Russia, and China will fully cooperate with the United States in tightening the sanctions.
Tasnim: “The Iranian regime has committed multiple violations of the agreement, for example on two speared occasions they have exceeded the limit of 130 metric tons of heavy water until recently, the Iranian regime has also failed to meet our expectation in its operation of advanced centrifuges,” Trump said. This is while the IAEA has confirmed Iran’s compliance with the deal for eight times. What is behind this denial?
Sen. Black: I have little doubt that Iran is in compliance with the nuclear agreement. The UN inspectors, Secretary of Defense James Mattis, and General Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, all agreed that Iran had complied with the terms of the agreement. Even after President Trump refused to certify compliance, Nikki Haley, US Ambassador to the United Nations, surprisingly announced on October 15, 2017, that Tehran is complying with the nuclear accord.
Tasnim: It seems that all of this is happening because Trump does not like the Iran nuclear deal. He doesn’t like it because it was Barack Obama’s triumph, because he doesn’t like Iran, because his friend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn’t like Iran and doesn’t like the Iran deal, and because he, Donald Trump said that he would kill the deal, and if he doesn’t, his “base” will be upset, What do you think?
Sen. Black: President Trump is critical of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action because he feels it is unreasonable to have an agreement that expires within ten or fifteen years. He also feels that it should be expanded to encompass long-range missile technology. It did not help when missiles that Iran launched bore the inscription, “Death to Israel.” Undoubtedly, Benjamin Netanyahu and hawkish elements within the Republican and Democrat parties were critical of the deal from the beginning. They will all continue demanding modifications.
Tasnim: Shortly after Trump’s speech, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE welcomed his decision not to certify the agreement. Trump called Iran a “rogue” state and repeated that Tehran sponsors terrorism and continues “aggression in the Middle East and all around the world.” What do you think?
Sen. Black: I do not agree with those who refer to Iran as a “rogue” state. While Iran has a unique political structure, it does have free and fair elections for parliament and the president. I agree with former Congressman Ron Paul, who has said Iran does not have a history of invading other countries. While I suspect that Iran funneled arms to Iraq during the US invasion, that action was defensive in nature. Iran’s present involvement in Syria took place at the invitation of the legitimate Syrian government that is recognized by the United Nations. Like all sovereign nations, Syria has the right to self-defense and is fully justified in seeking Iranian assistance to defend against foreign-funded terrorists recruited by the (P)GCC and NATO members.
Western media repeatedly claim that Tehran sponsors terrorism. I find it difficult to locate substantial evidence supporting that claim. On the contrary, “terrorism” as that term is commonly understood, stems mostly from the actions of Saudi Arabia, which routinely promotes acts of terror through its radical madrassahs. Those madrassahs indoctrinate poor youth around the globe in the ultra-violent Wahhabi doctrines. Saudi Arabia was the principal actor in the September 11, 2001 attacks on the Twin Towers and Pentagon. Those attacks, which killed 3,000 Americans, were principally carried out by Saudi Arabians with considerable help from Saudi government officials. Other acts of terrorism, including the Boston Marathon, San Bernardino, the Pulse Night Club, and the European attacks on Paris, Brussels, and dozens of other nations all stem from Saudi Arabian religious doctrines. It seems difficult to justify aligning the United States with Saudi Arabia in order to defend the world against terrorism. Senator Bob Graham, co-chair of the 9-11 commission said, “I am convinced that there was a direct line between at least some of the terrorists who carried out the September 11th attacks and the government of Saudi Arabia.”
Wikileaks published a secret communique from then-Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, dated 20009. In it, she said, “…donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide.” In a 2014 speech at Harvard, Vice President Joseph Biden criticized Saudi Arabia for the rise of the Islamic State, saying “Those allies’ policies wound up helping to arm and build allies of Al Qaeda and eventually a terrorist Islamic State.” In December 2015, the German BND intelligence service warned that Saudi Arabia was at risk of becoming a major destabilizing force in the Arab world. Beyond that, in December 2015, Germany’s Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said, “Wahhabi mosques all over the world are financed by Saudi Arabia. Many Islamist’s who are a threat to public safety come from these communities in Germany.”
The real sponsor of global terror is Saudi Arabia, not Iran
Whenever I Say Wahhabism Is The CIA Brand Of Islam This Is What I Mean
By Abdulmumin Giwa
“We opened a joint office in Riyadh to purify religious books of extremism by producing new books to be taught in Saudi Arabia, distributed worldwide, and all textbooks currently being studied and distributed. Young imams of mosques will be prepared under the direct control of White House officials.”
-US Secretary of State Tillerson
The Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) has completed all necessary arrangements for the commencement of the annual #ArbaeenTrekNigeria 2017
This year’s event will kick off in the next few days in the zones as is the usual practice. This is coming on the back heel of a leaked security report suggesting that the murderous Nigerian authorities plan to sabotage the trek using various intimidating ways including spates of arbitrary arrests and the perennial use of violence.
For two successive years, the trek was violently attacked along the Kano axis, first by detonating a bomb in 2015 and in 2016, using a joint police and military force to open fire resulting in the deaths of scores of IMN members. It is on record that the Kano state governor, Ganduje was on tape claiming responsibility for the later attack while addressing some Wahabi Sunni clerics months later.
Notwithstanding the evil machinations of the government in stalling the otherwise peaceful religious march, the Islamic Movement has gone ahead with preparations for the solemn trek. In a statement earlier, the Islamic Movement vowed to go ahead with the trek irrespective of what the Buhari administration plans to do to stop it.
Tweets issued later by the #FreeZakzaky handle sounded the same defiant tones, including a video tweet of its incarcerated leader, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky, talking about the Arbaeen trek, likening the critics and criticisms of the religious event in Nigeria as “dogs howling.” The Sheikh said such paid dogs could keep on howling and keep on being frustrated. He insisted that the #ArbaeenTrekNigeria will continue to be seen.
Consequently, the IMN has said that there is no going back, and has urged adherents to watch out for details of this year’s trek to be issued soon. It also said that people could contact #IMN zonal trek coordinators for logistics.
Be prepared therefore to be part of #ArbaeenTrekNigeria 2017
©#FreeZakzaky Campaign Committee, October 2017.
AYCF Accuses Agencies Handling Dasuki’s Case Of Selective Justice.
By Abdulmumin Giwa
The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) has condemned the agencies handling the former NSA Sambo Dasuki’s misappropriation of arms purchase funds of selective justice by singling out former Sokoto governor Dr. Attahiru Bafarawa out of the six persons involved in similar transactions.
This is contained in a statement they issued to newsmen recently and signed by the President of the Forum Alhaji Yerima Shettima.
The group also called for the separation of the Bafarawa’s case from that of the former NSA as they claim that the former NSA has long-standing issues with President Muhammadu Buhari while Bafarwa id in good terms with him.
The group explained “It is unacceptable to pick out a single individual out of six persons that were being suspected of wrongdoing, for sanctions. This betrays the logic of balance and standard practice of investigation.”
AYCF further mentioned names of some prominent Nigerian given the same amounts as Bafarawa that have not faced the same treatment as the former Sokota governor saying “It is on record that the other five Nigerians involved included Chief Bode George ( Southwest), Alhaji Yerima Abdullahi (Northeast), Chief Peter Odili (South-South); Chief Jim Nwobodo (Southeast) and Dr. Ahmad Ali ( North-Central). Each of these people, just like Bafarawa, got N100million as PDP’s logistics support for the 2015 campaigns in all of the aforementioned geo-political zones .
“To single out Bafarawa for trial therefore, amounts to selective justice, which is harmful to democracy and the rule of law.”
The group declared that it has records at its disposal proving that Bafarawa disbursed the funds as demanded to the required PDP stakeholders using bank electronic funds transfer, something that cannot be said of the other beneficiaries of the same funds.
The statement mentioned names of the beneficiaries saying Kebbi State’s Abdullahi Yelwa’s Access Bank Account No: 0050222872 was credited with the sum of N15,600,000 on 12/01/15, Jigawa State’s Bashir M. Dalhatu’s Zenith Bank Account No. 1003873037 was credited with N15,600,000 on 12/01/15, Zamfara State’s Bala Mohammed Mande’s Keystone Bank account No. 1001340999 got N15,700,000 on 12/01/15 and Kaduna State’s Senator Musa Bello had his Diamond Bank Account No. 0025256324 credited with N16,200,000 on 12/01/15.
Also, in Kano State Habibu Shuaibu’s Zenith Bank account No. 1002417106 on 12/01/15 was credited with N15,100,000.
Others are Katsina State’s Amb. Adamu Saidu Daura got his Keystone Bank account No. 1002074068 credited with N15,700,000 on 17/3/15, In Sokoto State, Eng . Muhammad Tori got cash payment of N3,300,000 on 23/1/15, Ahmed Mohd Gusau, a resident of Sokoto got cash payment of N3,000,000 on 23/01/15. The net total of the above disbursements stands at N100,200,000.
The group also mentioned that even as Bafarawa did the needful he even added N200,000:00 from his personal account to ensure his loyalty to his party.
In its conclusion the forum declared that Bafarawa is not being subjected to established procedures of investigation, thereby making the agencies in charge of the case vulnerable to selective justice and called for immediate correction of the case procedures.
Kad Gov’s Spokesman Instructs Thugs to Molest Journalist
By Abdulmumin Giwa
A journalist in Kaduna has cried out after political thugs allegedly working for the state governor Nasiru El-Rufai’s team were ordered by his spokesman Samuel Aruwan to molest him after being expelled from a caucus meeting of the APC at its Kaduna Secretariat yesterday.
The Journalist, a reporter with Desmins Independent Television (DITV), Ibrahim Haruna Nasarawa said he was shocked when he saw thugs deliberating on whether to molest him or not as he walked out of the meeting to the car park.
Haruna, who is also the anchor of a popular Hausa program on DITV/Radio ‘Ga Fili Ga Mai Doki’ said “I thanked God the political loyalist to Hon. rep member representing Igabi Local Government Hon. Mohammad Abubakar Mamadi are the ones that saved me.”
He told newsmen that when the thugs approached him they asked “Are you the one Samuel Aruwan said we should bring you out? I said Yes and they said, honestly we can’t they then took me outside, God helped me they didn’t beat me.” he added.
The journalist said, “I thank God the political loyalist to Hon. Rep member representing Igabi Local Government Hon. Mohammad Abubakar Mamadi were the ones that saved me.”
He added that “If it were someone different they didn’t know the story would have been something else.” Thanking God for his popularity.
The spokesman has declined to respond to calls by journalists wanting to confirm his side of the story on the said order he gave to molest a journalist.
A journalist sent the following text message to him but did not respond “Good evening sir, My name is Israel Bulus’s elanza news. There is an allegation you ordered political thugs yesterday to manhandle DITV Reporter at the APC caucus meeting held at the APC state Secretariat yesterday. How true is the allegation.”
You Can’t Threaten Senate With Protests To Approve $350M Loan For Kaduna –Shehu Sani
By Abdulmumin Giwa
The Senator representing Kaduna Central and Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign and Domestic Debt, Shehu Sani has said that the Senate cannot be threatened with sponsored protests by Kaduna state government to approve $350 million loan request.
Despite the fact that Kaduna state government had banned all sort of protest in the state, last week, some women allegedly sponsored by the state government went on protest seeking for the loan approval.
The Senator said he wouldn’t be party to approval of a loan that will worsen the economic situation of the state and subject generations yet unborn into untold hardships and recessions.
Shehu Sani stated this while addressing newsmen in Kaduna where he also stated that due process must be adopted adding that his actions have no political motives.
According to the senator, with the situation Kaduna state has found itself, if the loan is eventually approved, for the next three to five decades, the state may not be able to pay the loan and this will affect the payment of workers’ salaries and meeting other basic needs of the state.
“It is not a matter of Senator Shehu Sani been a stumbling blocking to the loan, but as a Senator representing my people at the Senate, I have a duty to ensure that things are done the way it ought to be done and that the next generation should not come and meet debt they cannot pay.
“If we borrow such amount of money and the money is not use according to what the money is meant for, the danger is that people may not traced the name of those who seek the loan but my name as the Chairman Senate Committee on Foreign and Local Debt that will appear on the file as the person who apex his signature on the file”, the senator explained.
While speaking, Shehu Sani says: “If the senate must sign the loan, the senate must be satisfied beyond any reasonable doubt that the loan must reflect with projects seeking to use the loan for.
“Even if my committee approved the loan, it will still come back to the floor of the Senate for final approval. Passing a loan request required a lot of processes and all these processes will be done in public and not behind a closed door”.
The Senator cautioned that people should not be brainwashed by going on the streets of Kaduna state to stage protests on the issue regarding the loan, saying he is a symbol of protest in Kaduna State without being paid for by anybody.
“I am a symbol of protests especially in Kaduna State without anybody paying me to do so, so whoever is doing protest in Kaduna is learning from me,” he said.
He explained further that out of the twenty two states seeking the loan, thirteen of them have been approved and nine states awaiting approval including Kaduna sate.
“Out of the twenty two states seeking the loan, thirteen of them have been approved and nine states awaiting approval including Kaduna sate, “the senator concluded
Zaria Massacre: a State Sponsored Genocide Preamble
The Zaria massacre perpetrated on the members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) and its leadership by the Nigerian Army on the 12th to 14th of December 2015 will forever remain in history as a planned and executed genocide. Such destruction of life and property in a very crude manner has never occurred in the history of Nigeria before.
Under a flimsy and non-satisfactory pretext, that the convoy of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. General Tukur Buratai was blocked by some members of the IMN along Sokoto Road in Zaria, directly opposite the Hussainiyya Baqiyyatullah, the Islamic Center of the IMN, the Army descended on the members of the IMN in a killing spree.
The Army after the claimed blockage of the convoy of the COAS engaged in a 48 hours killing of members of the IMN without distinguishing women from men and adults from children. The attack was more of a terrorist attack judging by the way it took place.
Many were shot at close range, many burned alive, many that surrendered were summarily killed and many others buried alive.
Although the Army through the COAS claimed that they killed only seven IMN members to make way for the COAS and also save his life from attack by IMN members, who were alleged to be in possession of petrol bombs, it was later revealed by the Kaduna state government before a Judicial Commission of Inquiry (JCI) it set up that they buried 347 IMN members in a mass grave in Mando village near Kaduna.
This revelation followed a report by the Amnesty International (AI) that there are mass graves with hundreds of people buried in them. The AI also released satellite footages of disturbed earth taken before the mass burial and after the mass burial.
Since the pogrom the IMN leader Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky and his wife Sister Zeenat Ibrahim have remained in illegal detention with the DSS. Also about two hundred other members abducted and handed to the police by the Army are kept in Kaduna Central Prison on cropped up charges by the Kaduna state governor Nasir El-Ruifai that includes culpable genocide.
Following the illegal detention of the IMN leader and his wife, the Nigerian government was sued in a Federal High Court in Abuja for violating their fundamental human rights. The court’s judgment is in favor of the IMN leader and the Nigerian government is ordered to release the IMN leader within a period of 45 days from the judgment, provide a residence for him in any state of his choice in northern Nigeria and be paid the sum of N50 million as damages.
Since the judgment which the government appealed, it acted with impunity and contempt of court by refusing to obey the judgment.
Members of the Movement have remained focused, resolute and peaceful by refusing to be intimidated or provoked into violence. They remained on the path of seeking redress through peaceful means as against the false propaganda spread against them blackmailing them as being violent and notorious.
The general belief off the Movement is that the massacre was pre-planned and executed by the government with the sole intention of killing the IMN leader, dispersing his followers and outlawing the Movement all of which have woefully failed.
Brief History of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria
The Islamic Movement in Nigeria was born towards the end of the 70s at the prominent Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. It started with the idea of presenting a new ideology that is an option and a solution to the growing problems of Nigeria. It was evident that Nigeria at that time was heading for the doom despite the oil riches discovered in the country that made Nigeria a member of the prestigious Organization of petroleum Exporting countries (OPEC).
The country at that time was recovering from the dents of the Civil War that added to the problems of having a strong and functional federalism. Individualism, corruption by public officers and tribal and sectional sentiments were taking shape then. The country had changed from operating a parliamentary system run on regional power headed by Premiers to a federal system in which states were created and headed by Governors.
The country’s future was obstructed by the series of military coups that affected the growth of democracy and civil rule in the country. The military rule produced a lot of millionaires who have looted the public coffers and enriched themselves and also founded a pattern in which power was transmitted within their circles even with the advent of civil rule later.
The entire world at that time was shared into two by the two leading ideologies of capitalism and Communism. The capitalist were mostly in the west and led by America while the communists were mostly in the east and led by the Union of Soviet Socialists Republic (USSR). All other countries of the world were left to choose between the two powers or super powers as they were called.
Within the academic circles in Nigeria there were yearnings and agitations by both students and staff calling on Nigeria to adopt the communist ideology as a system. This agitation has grown especially within the universities and had produced a lot of activists. They have on various occasions challenged the government on various public oriented policies, some of which have at various times led to protests by students.
It was at this time that the IMN leader Sheikh Ibraheem Yaqoub, who was also a student of Economics a Ahmadu Bello University Zaria opted for the Islamic system as the best solution to our problems. He challenged the concepts of theory of evolution and the atheist ideas of communism. He called for the establishment of the Islamic system through a revolutionary process as implemented by Prophet Muhammad SAWA, and replicated by Sheikh Uthman bin Fodio in northern Nigeria about two centuries then. Although it was not smooth all through more Muslim youths subscribed to the idea and the IMN leader led in the intellectual agitations.
Prior to his university days which he attained not through the usual formal pattern of going through primary school or the hen elementary school, secondary and then university, but through a pattern born out of confidence and commitment to intellect, the IMN leader was already a trained Islamic scholar who went through the traditional Islamic schooling system and studied before some of the most prominent scholars in Zaria and Kano. He had exhausted all the study schedules in the traditional Islamic schooling system before he got to university. He was also a trained Islamic teacher from the historic School for Arabic Studies that trained many Grand Khadis in the north of Nigeria. By both right and by training he was a young Islamic scholar then.
He propagated the Islamic ideology based on ideas that were also propagated by activists and scholars like Hassan al Banna and Sayyid Qutb of Egypt. Members of the Movement at that time were known to be receiving inspiration from a particular literature ‘The Milestones’, written by Sayyid Qutb.
It was during the late seventies that events took a startling position in Iran. The activities in Iran witnessed a popular uprising that led to a revolution and the ousting of one of the strongest royal powers in the world led by Shah Reza Pahlavi. The revolution was led by Ayatullah Ruhullah al-Musawi Al-Khumaini (QS) and it led to thhe establishment of the Islamic republic of Iran.
A lot of activists across the world and in Nigeria were impressed that an Islamic scholar could lead a positive revolution and oust a dynasty that is supported by the strongest capitalist country in the world, United States of America. There were a lot of struggling groups across the world that were also empowered by that revolution like African National Congress (ANC) and South West African Peoples Organization (SWAPO) all of which were influenced by the Iranian revolution.
The world t at that time was such that a third ideology was introduced on the global stage and is led by the Islamic Republic of Iran. This is seen as a threat to the American interest most especially as there were concessions between the oil rich Iran and America during the reign of the ousted Shah. America lost a lot of economic benefits with the advent of the Islamic regime in Iran. The public who were enlightened through the revolution saw America as an enemy that was exploiting them and subjecting them to economic recessions and difficulties through the Shah who operated as an American stooge.
With the news of the revolution going round and people from different parts of the world were yearning to go to Iran to have an idea of what the Islamic revolution actually was, the IMN leader who was at that time the Secretary General of the Muslim Student Society of Nigeria (MSSN) had the opportunity to visit the Islamic Republic. He decided that whatever he finds Imam Khumaini the leader of the Islamic revolution doing would be what he would resort to on his return.
That brought about the beginning of a new and more practical concept for the movement. This brought about the Funtua Declaration where the IMN leader declared that there is no authority except Allah and submitted hhis entire life to the service of the course off Allah.
Since that time various regimes that came to power ensured that thy kept him out of ccirculation.
Glimpses Of The Range Of Crimes Against Humanity Carried Out By Nigerian Army In Zaria (December, 2015)
Today Monday 16th October, 2017 the sitting of the Presidential Investigation Panel looking into human rights abuses by Nigerian Army is expected to commence in Kaduna. We therefore reflect on the range of offences seen in Zaria genocide and the crimes against humanity initiated and executed by the Nigerian Army including but not limited to:
1. Mass extra judicial killings:
On that fateful weekend, the Nigerian Army started the killing spree at about 12:00 noon on Saturday, 12th December. As they shot without provocation, they also dragged the corpses along into large trucks waiting in the vicinity. Contrary to what they sold as the actual cause of opening fire, there was no Chief of Army Staff at that point. There was no road block and there was no procession or any program taking place at the time.
Only a handful of mostly students taking lessons with their tutors and early arrivals for the flag changing event to have held by late evening were in Hussainiyyah at the time. The Chief of Army Staff arrived the scene of the event about three hours later at 3:20pm. That was when the alibi was acted and filmed with their agents performing.
Soon after that, they maintained a siege of Hussainiyyah for almost 20 hours, until in the early hours of Sunday13th when they threw explosives inside the compound and forcefully made their way. In the process, they further killed scores including the injured in the earlier shooting, who were receiving first aid inside the complex. Again, they parked all the corpses and went away with them.
On that Saturday the 12th at about 9:30pm, soldiers arrived the Gyellesu neighbourhood of Zaria, where the residence of Sheikh Zakzaky was. Most of the members of the Islamic Movement who had come for the event of flag hoisting had gone to the residence or surrounding houses where other members of the Movement lived. These were the ones who came for the program from far and wide but could not make it to the Hussainiyyah because of what was going on there at the time.
As soon as the soldiers arrived, they opened fire indiscriminately and as a result, casualty figures were mounting in geometric proportions. This went on throughout the night and well into Sunday late afternoon. By that time, well over a thousand people were killed. The whole of Gyellesu residence of the Sheikh and surrounding places were littered by heaps of corpses, as attempts at parking the corpses into military trucks by the soldiers could not match the rate of killing. On Monday morning, they came back and continued from where they stopped! That was when they killed the three sons of the Sheikh and also fatally shot both the Sheikh and the wife at pointblank range.
That same Saturday night, another contingent of the Military had proceeded to Darul Rahma burial ground belonging to the Islamic Movement, where scores who could not reach either the Gyellesu residence or the Hussainiyyah took refuge. Again, all the people there were killed in cold blood.
Overall, well over a thousand souls were killed by the Military between Saturday and Monday.
*2. Secret burials in mass graves:*
There were so many corpses than they could park and much more than all the morgues in Zaria could take. Initial corpses were deposited in ABUTH Shika. Others were taken to Nigerian Military Deport in PZ. However, there were many more than they could possibly handle. A decision was made on Sunday to secretly give them mass burial.
To further hide the number of those killed, the site of the burial was chosen to be about a hundred kilometers from the scene, in Mando, in the outskirts of Kaduna. The time chosen for the burial, 12 midnight removes any iota of doubts that there was a deliberate attempt at hiding the figures killed. That the burial took nearly five hours to complete gives an idea of the number of people they struggled to cover.
We reliably know that there are at least two other undisclosed sites close to this confessed place. At the right time, these other sites will be made public.
*3. Rape:*
Witnesses reported that young girls were raped and shot, especially in Hussainiyyah and Darul Rahama. There were reports of other types of sexual assault. Many young girls had their veils forcibly removed. The Sisters forum of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria had addressed a press conference over this much earlier. Witnesses abound.
*4. Genital mutilation with a view to prevent further reproduction of the group:*
One of the worst crimes committed against the Islamic Movement was a pattern of deliberate attacks and mutilation of the reproductive areas of especially the women and girls. For instance, women shot were shot in the pelvic regions of the body. Others had their breasts cut off. The worst of all, the soldiers verbally abused them saying that even if they survived, they will not live to born more Shiites! Pregnant women had their bellies reaped open and the foetus killed. It was obvious that they wanted outright prevention of further reproduction within the group.
*5. Arson:*
The military quite early in the attacks engaged in criminal, intentional and deliberate setting of buildings on fire. That was what was done to most buildings particularly the house of Sheikh Zakzaky and surrounding houses.
*6. Burning people alive:*
This was what befell most people who were so injured to move away from fire as the military torched the buildings. Sheikh Zakzaky’s elder sister was picked and thrown into the fire while she was still alive. The same fate befell so many others. Beside the weak and injured, the rampaging soldiers also burnt corpses as well.
*7. Burying people alive:*
Witnesses reported that some survivors were buried alive. This was particularly true of those shot in Darul Rahama. There was no certification of deaths before the hasty mass burial.
*8. Wanton destruction of properties:*
This pogrom executed by the Nigerian military involved massive wanton destruction of properties belonging to the Islamic Movement. The destruction of property did not stop at only the places the killings and arson took place, it extended to other places where there was no incident at all, such as Sheikh Zakzaky’s Mother’s house and grave. In Darul Rahama, many graves were desecrated as well.
*9. Forced evictions:*
So many members of the Islamic Movement especially those hitherto resident in Gyellesu were forcibly evicted from their houses.
*10. Wrongful detention:*
Hundreds of other members of the Movement, including the injured, women and very young children were arrested and arbitrarily detained wrongly. Some few died in custody and many suffer from life-threatening illnesses but remain wrongfully detained without access to appropriate medical attention. Others are standing trial forcefully falsely accused of culpable homicide among other framed up charges. The trials are stalling as prosecutors proceed with the cases at a snail pace. Some others remain detained without charges for almost two years now.
Sheikh Zakzaky and the wife belong to the later category. When the Sheikh challenged his detention in Court and obtained a favourable judgement stating that his continued detention by the Department of State Security is illegal, unconstitutional and violates his fundamental rights, the government continues to detain him and the wife almost incommunicado in contempt of that court ruling.
*11. Enforced disappearances:*
The Nigerian army abducted many members of the Islamic Movement, especially girls and young men and took them to unknown destinations. These are probably being held in several underground detention facilities across the country.
The Islamic Movement had brought out a list of over 800 of its members still missing, who might probably be alive somewhere.
By and large, these are by no means an exhaustive list of very serious unspeakable crimes against humanity committed by the Nigerian army in Zaria in December of 2015. Although Amnesty International talked about a scandalous mass attempt at coverup, it is expected that the Panel will rise above parochial approach to meet expectations and dispense justice.
We await justice as the World watches. It is actually long overdue for the Nigerian authorities to come out clean about what happened in Zaria between December 12 – 14, 2015.
#FreeZakaky Campaign Committee, October 2017*