On a day that the Justice Mohammed Lawal-Garba led Judicial Commission
of Inquiry into the December 2015 clash between soldiers and members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), otherwise known as ‘Shi’ites’, submitted its reports to Governor Nasir El-Rufai, members of the sect yesterday blocked the Zaria-Kaduna Expressway to protest the continued detention of their leader.
Zakzaky has been in detention since the December incident following his arrest by the army.
The sect claimed that over 300 of its members were gunned down by soldiers on the fateful day when they blocked the road, denying the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-General Tukur Buratai, his entourage and other road users passage.
The army denied killing the Shi’ites but admitted using force because, according to it, the sect blocked the road in an attempt to assassinate Buratai.
Spokesperson for the Shi’ites, Musa Ibrahim, said yesterday’s process was a peaceful one.
Online publication, Premium Times, quoted him as saying: “Some of our members embarked on peaceful procession today (yesterday). But they were attacked by thugs at Maraban Jos (along Kaduna-Zaria expressway).”
He added that he was informed that the police intervened in the fight “but I don’t know whether there is casualty”.
However, submitting the report of his panel to Governor El-Rufai in Kaduna yesterday, the chairman said that the panel received 3,500 memoranda within and outside the state during its sittings. He said that one of the parties, IMN, failed to appear before the panel for reasons best known to them even as a counsel to the sect participated at the commencement of its sitting.
Justice Garba noted that the failure of the IMN to appear before the panel caused prolong adjournments of the committee, leading to calls for extension of time to complete its assignment. He said: “We started our first public sitting in February, about three or four weeks after the inauguration because of our pledge to provide adequate and reasonable opportunity that is fair and just, particularly to parties directly involved in the incidence that we were investigating.
“We conducted meetings, and we had to ensure that one of the parties, the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, was accorded every opportunity to appear before the commission and present its own side of the incident. They had appeared, they were represented by a counsel at the initial stage of the proceedings, and for no reason known to the commission, the counsel decided to opt out.
“I said there was no reason known to the commission because there was no formal communication to the commission on why they decided not to continue their appearance before the commission. However, like everybody else, we were reading on newspapers, online and through other avenues that they did not want to appear and they were not going to appear.”
In his remarks shortly after receiving the commission’s report, Governor El-Rufai said that the report would be diligently studied to ensure that the lessons are properly digested, the appropriate White Paper conveying government decisions on the recommendations of the Inquiry is issued promptly and the necessary follow-up actions are taken.”
El-Rufai added that, in the interest of transparency, the government intended to make the final report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Zaria Clashes available to the public in the shortest possible time, even while the white paper process is ongoing.
The governor noted that as the report had been classified top secret, government would evaluate the security implication before making the report public. “The Kaduna State Government expected to receive the final report of the commission six weeks after its first public sitting,” he said. ”But, following requests from the commission, extensions had to be granted to enable all relevant parties to appear before the inquiry. Although the Judicial Commission of Inquiry has powers to invite and compel the appearance of anybody or institution, the commission decided not to compel attendance, opting for adjournments to encourage appearance.
“On behalf of the government and people of Kaduna State, I wish to thank all the distinguished men and women who accepted to serve as members of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry. We are also grateful to the Commission Secretary, Dr. Bala Bubaji, and Malam Yusuf Ali, SAN, for his contributions as Counsel to the Inquiry. We acknowledge the efforts of Utaz Yunus Usman, SAN, Assistant Counsel to the Commission, and AU Mustapha, Counsel to the State Government whom we congratulate on elevation to the rank of SAN.
“I assure you all that this Final Report will be diligently studied to ensure that the lessons are properly digested, the appropriate White Paper conveying government decisions on the recommendations of the Inquiry is issued promptly and the necessary follow-up actions are taken. In the last three and half decades, Kaduna State has suffered too much from at least 10 rounds of ethnic and religious violence. We hope that the Inquiry process, and the Final Report that you have presented today will help ensure that the legacy of violent disorder and the catastrophic toll in lives and property are firmly consigned to the past.”