Okikiola Qasim
When the news about the clash between Nigerian Army and the Shii’te on Saturday 12th December, 2015 that led to killing of many shii’te members and soldiers in Zaria broke, panic clench my heart and I asked the question again; when do we end this problems of unwarranted carnage of the innocent citizen of this country and captivating laws into our own hand, with the believe that we are on board, nothing would happen. I circumspectly followed the developments and many annotations as the situations unfold.
I premeditated to communicate my concern on this matter since the broke of the showdown began in 2014, but I was just being careful, due to intervention of several Islamic organization, Islamic scholars and individual that had one way or the order written to the leader of the shi’te movement in Nigeria to restrain from some of his doctrine and obey the constitute authority. Permit me to quote some of the statements of Sheikh Dr Abubakar Gumi, who wrote an open letter to Sheikh Ibrahim Elzakzaky 09/12/2014 and I quote:
“My Brother Ibrahim El-Zakzaky: it’s not too late to repent. After registering my condolences to the recent loss of your three children who were gunned down by some elements in the military, I find it an obligation to help you see that some of your actions too are the contributing factors in this unfortunate avoidable tragedy…… I cannot understand under which civil or religious law gave you the right and liberty to block one side of the double carriage road forcing motorists to cramp each other dangerously on one lane. If your action is to propagate your creed, I am telling you, you will only attract the poor young ignorant miscreants of the society. Never the same except of course the disgruntled.”
Barely a year later, another catastrophe befalls the group. But this time, I was ready to explode from my silence when it happened again in 2015. While I was preparing to speak, I got a message from the Secretary-General, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, in a press release signed by Professor Ishaq Oloyede, through the Secretary, Media Committee of NSCIA, Alhaji Abdulrahman Balogun, on the same issue, stating the position of the Sultan and NSCIA. I therefore down my opinion since the Sultan have spoken; my opinion may not be needed at this point in time.
I strong-willed to adopt the position of the NSCIA as the lead in my approach to the matter and I quote:
“The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) under the leadership of its President-General, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar (CFR, mni), is shocked and saddened by the current outbreak of deadly violence in Zaria.
At a time Nigeria is facing serious challenges, the least expected is a confrontation between the Nigerian Army and the Islamic Movement of Nigeria. The loss of lives and property is indeed unfortunate and such should have been prevented.
While there are claims and counter-claims on what actually precipitated the latest heart-rending incident, the NSCIA urges the authorities to exercise restraint. The history of the circumstances that engendered the outbreak of militant insurgency in the past, with cataclysmic consequences that Nigeria is yet to recover from, should not be allowed to repeat itself.
We urge the federal government to immediately constitute a judicial commission of inquiry to thoroughly unravel the immediate and remote causes of the current mayhem. Besides, the commission should also investigate the past incidents involving the Movement so that justice can be done.
The sanctity of human life is inviolable in Islam and painstaking efforts should be made at all times to prevent bloodshed.
In other words, life is sacred and the fundamental responsibility of government is to guarantee the security of life and property. While no group should be allowed to constitute law unto itself or arrogate unconstitutional powers to itself under any guise, the fact still remains that the position of law is clear when there is any breach. Therefore, as order is the first law of heaven, normalcy and restraint should be taken seriously.
May the Almighty Allah guide our leaders’ right and guard us Nigerians against our own indiscretion at all times.
Many Nigerian reacted on the deadly clash Saturday, between the soldiers and Shiite members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, in Zaria, Kaduna State, North West, Nigeria. Many of the Movement members of the organization were allegedly killed, when the Nigerian army opened fire on them, while holding a peaceful procession on the streets of Zaria.
Though, the Nigerian Army have since made public the reasons for their actions. Many Islamic groups have release press statements on the matter stating their position on this issue, while some have written open letter to the President of Nigeria suggesting some way out and caution on another extension to insurgency. It must be stated here that many Islamic organizations came out to condemn this injustice and lawlessness. This means that our differences were set aside and collectively condemned the situation and warned when it was most appropriate. I therefore adopted the release by Muslim Right Concern (MURIC) because it was closer to all my points and some points expressed by many Islamic organizations.
A Non-Governmental organization, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) in its reaction Monday condemned the massacre and denounced the well-known “belligerent posture of the Nigerian military towards unarmed civilians as manifested” in the weekend killing.
It is reckless, lawless and barbaric. It is wanton exhibition of lack of respect for human life and an open infringement on Allah-given fundamental human rights of defenceless Nigerians. It is impunity of the highest order.
We reject the army’s claim of reacting to an attempt by the group to assassinate the life of the Chief of General Staff. It is laughable, ridiculous and unacceptable. It is an infantile after-thought, a cock and bull story to which only the marines will listen.
The group defended that the Movement recorded no violence during its annual processions, saying on the contrary, the Nigerian Army seemed to have marked the group for elimination as manifested in its “unprovoked attack on the group in July last year (2014) which claimed the lives of three of Shaykh Al-Zakzaky’s sons as well as more than thirty other members of the group”.
The army’s claim that the procession blocked the access road appears more plausible but it could only have slowed down the movement of traffic and does not warrant a massacre of this proportion. In comparison, the disruption of traffic movement caused by the Islamic organization in Zaria is a child’s play when considered against the background of the notorious blockade and heavy traffic caused by the Redeemed Church on Lagos-Ibadan expressway which causes untold suffering to thousands of travellers.
Thousands of commuters and road users are known to have slept on the road as a result of the traffic congestion caused by the church on Lagos-Ibadan expressway. Many programmes have failed because of the holdup. Weddings have been truncated as either the bride or the groom (or both) were held up in the traffic conundrum. Hundreds of motorists have been forced to turn round and return to their destinations for the same reason. We can see different strokes for different folks.
Is it not an open secret that Al-Zakyzaky’s members hold their procession once annually or at least during their festivals? Is it also not well known that apart from some of its special programmes, the Redeemed Church programmes come up at least once every month (every first Friday of the month)?”
MURIC demanded that the incident must not go uninvestigated and culprits unpunished and Heads must roll in the military for the latest extra-judicial killing, so as to safe the public from military rascality in future.
We are not in the days of military rule. The Nigerian Army must be subjected to the rule of law. It is high time Nigerians were told who is in control: General Muhammadu Buhari or the military.
The latest trigger-happiness in the Nigerian army is capable of repeating history. We do not want a situation whereby members of Al-Zakyzaky’s organization who have hitherto been peaceful will become radicalized and militarized. The only way to ensure that this does not happen is to punish those who gave the order for the massacre. We therefore submit a case of use of excessive force on unarmed civilians against the Nigerian Army.
Without prejudice to the army’s highhandedness in this matter, Al-Zakyzaky’s followers should organize their rallies with civility. They should engage the services of traffic policemen and arrange their members in a thin line of two in a row.
This it stated was against the background of its investigation which revealed that the Emir of Zaria, Alhaji Shehu Idris, once changed his route due to the heavy traffic caused by the organization’s long procession, so also was the former Governor Mukhtar Yero. The group therefore appealed to the leaders of Zazzau Emirate to dialogue with Shaykh Al-Zakzaky with a view to finding a lasting solution to the problem.
The group also called on the National Assembly (NASS) to quickly wade into the matter, to probe the killings and to pursue the matter to a logical conclusion, including demand for adequate compensation for the families of those murdered by the army.
The organization said it was worry, as the information reaching him indicated that the leader of the movement Shayky Al-Zakyzaky’s whereabout is unknown. Similarly, it expressed concern on allegation that Al-Zakyzaky has been arrested by the Military. Still, MURIC demanded that he should be prosecuted instead of prolonged detention, as law provides for maximum of 48 hours.
On this note, we must collectively condemn any act of injustice on any Nigeria citizen regardless of the religion, ethnic and the political class he or she may belong. In my opinion, the passage of the COAS does not and should not worth killing any life. And no any religious festival or gathering weekly or yearly should worth the barricade of the major road, street leading to many references above without the authority’s approval and monitoring. I can’t imagine how our leaders would account for this innocent live lost so far, what would be their reasons to justify their killing? Only time would tell, how best we can protect the lives and interest of Nigerians.
