"Zaria Massacre: Group demands appology from Shiites" [MUST READ]

The Shiites in Nigeria has been asked to apologize to the nation’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS)

GCCLA has said that the rights of the COAS was grossly violated in the Shiites encounter with the army

The Shiites in Nigeria have been asked to apologize to Lt Gen Yusuf Buratai, following the alleged assassination attempt on the nation’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS).

According to the civil rights organisation, Global Center for Conscious Living Against Corruption (GCCLAC), the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) is to apologize to the COAS over an assassination attempt on his life by the sect on December 12, 2015 in Zaria, Kaduna state.

The organisation also appealed to the Federal Government to consider the use of half-hijab by Muslim women instead of outright ban in the interest of fairness.

Dr Gabriel Nwambu, the national coordinator of GCCLAC, and the women Leader, Hajia Maina Abubakar, made the demands during a press briefing in Abuja, on Wednesday, February 3.

Having deemed it fit to embark independently verify the remote and immediate cause or causes of the clash, as well as verifying the facts following accusations and counter-accusations by the two parties involved, the group said that investigations have revealed that the loss of lives could have been averted had all efforts to resolve the issue amicably not been resisted by the Shiites group.

While acknowledging that the clash led to loss of lives, Nwambu stressed that the number of those that died was exaggerated by Shiite sympathizers. He also said the right of Buratai, being a symbol of the Nigerian army was grossly violated, adding that “an attempt to assassinate him was also made because he was ambushed.”

“We want Nigerians to get this fact very clear; based on our findings, the fact that somebody is a military personnel or an officer does not insulate him or prevent him from enjoying the fundamental human rights as entrenched in the constitution.

“We are saying he narrowly escaped death, and for those who have gone biased to say that there was nothing bad, that the army was busy killing people, it is important to note that the Sergeant in the US Marine in Wowood was murdered with just a knife. So, dangerous weapons of all sorts by the mob constitute a major threat to life,” Nwambu informed.

In the same vein, Iranian government has described the continued incarceration of the leader of the Shiite Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, as illegal and unfair. According to the country’s ambassador to Nigeria Saeed Koozechi, the official position of the Islamic Republic of Iran is that El-Zakzaky, who suffered gunshot wounds during the Nigerian Army’s clash with the Shiite sect in December 2015, “should not be kept in detention for a long time.”