Kaduna State
Governor Nasir El-Rufai announced today that the final report of the Judicial
Commission of Inquiry into the December 2015 massacre of Shiite
Muslims by the
Nigerian will be made public in the interest of transparency.
Mr. El-Rufai made
this announcement while receiving the long-awaited report form the commission.
The Judicial Commission of Inquiry was chaired by Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba.
"In the interest of transparency, the Kaduna State
Government intends to make the final report of the Judicial
Commission of Inquiry into the Zaria clashes available to the public in
the shortest possible time, even while the whitepaper process is ongoing,"
Mr. El-Rufai said.
Mr. El-Rufai also stated that the report, which has been
classified as Top Secret, would be evaluated for security implications before
making it public.
These announcements follow mounting criticism and anxiety that
the Kaduna State authorities and Nigerian army officials would not objectively
carry out their investigation of the Zaria massacre.
It will be recalled that the Nigerian army murdered several
hundred Shiite Muslims in December when followers of the Islamic Movement of
Nigeria (IMN) obstructed a military convoy carrying Nigeria’s Chief of Army
Staff Tukur Buratai. The military, following a clash with some members of the
IMN, brutalized the Shiite community in Zaria for several days, which included
stacking corpses in the street and later dumping several hundred bodies into a
mass grave later identified by Amnesty International.
The Nigerian army also targeted Shiite leader Sheikh Ibrahim
Zakzaky who eventually received several gunshot wounds to his body, including
his abdomen, and later lost his eye due to the brutal encounter. Many of Mr.
Zakzaky’s family were also killed during the raid on his home which lasted
several days. In addition to the murder of hundreds of people, no less than 350
according to Amnesty International, numerous religious sites of worship were
intentionally destroyed.
Despite these criticisms, Mr. El-Rufai said that "we have
no interest other than the solemn duty to uphold law and order, ensure security
and protect the lives and rights of our citizens."
He added that, "I assure you all that this final
report will be diligently studied to ensure that the lessons are
properly digested; the appropriate whitepaper conveying
government decisions on the recommendations of the inquiry is issued
promptly and the necessary follow-up actions are taken."
Skeptics, including sources from the IMN speaking to
SaharaReporters, have said that they are concerned that the Kaduna State
government, Mr. El-Rufai, and the military officers involved will try to
conceal their crimes from the public eyes. IMN representatives have stated that
the Judicial Commission of Inquiry was not pursuing their role as objective
investigators with the authenticity needed to provide justice.
IMN and other human rights groups have also demanded that Mr.
Zakzaky be released from military custody.
It will be recalled that SaharaReporters reported that the
military was reluctant to release Mr. Zakzaky because of the severe injuries he
received from them.
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