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Tag: El-Zakzaky

  • Re-Zaria and the Shi’ites without El-Zakzaky

    Re-Zaria and the Shi’ites without El-Zakzaky

    I AM going to respond to issues Abdulgafar Alabelewe had raised in his write-up having subjected the writing of the write-up itself to a moral test. Firstly, I will start by correcting the wrong impression given by Abdulgafar that the leader of the Movement was lured into the movement by Iran during his University days. Please go and check your records well. The Islamic Revolution in Iran took place in 1979 after Sheikh Zakzaky had graduated from the university in the same year. But while in the university he was known for Islamic activism and was even the Secretary-General of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria, MSSN. The revered leader even without Iran was already calling for the establishment of fairness and justice to all through Islam.

    The Islamic Revolution in Iran only complemented what he was doing by proving that it was practicable and not just theory. The Islamic Revolution in Iran encouraged a lot of other freedom seeking groups that it is possible to achieve their goals like SWAPO and ANC in particular. Furthermore, the Islamic Movement in Nigeria is not sponsored by Iran. Neither you the writer nor the Nigerian government has any evidence whatsoever that Iran is sponsoring the IMN and I challenge you to show it to the world if you have any. How much would you be paid to risk being murdered by your own government? This is a very stupid claim!

    Let me tell you what Iran is to me personally. It is an example of a country that has successfully freed itself through a revolution from the exploitation and oppression by the global imperialism. It is a country that has resisted sanctions and imposed war for over thirty years of its existence. It miraculously under mega economic sanctions developed into a superpower to be reckoned with in its region.

    Iran is a country that has developed in the fields of science and technology into becoming a major global nuclear power to be reckoned with all under sanctions for years. It is an oil rich country and OPEC member that does not rely on its oil for survival. Nigeria has more to benefit from Iran than the European and American exploiters who squeeze everything out of us to build their countries. I still leave you to find the answer for me, who is afraid of Iran and why?

    Secondly, Sani Yakubu is not in a good position to speak on the IMN at least to a responsible and fair journalist. He is just turned into a joker of the mischief makers and perpetrators of the Zaria massacre. This is a man that declared publicly that Sheikh Zakzaky was not his brother because he is Shi’ite and that Shi’ites and Christians are all infidels. This is his level of insanity.

    Sani is one of the ardent anti-Shi’ite Wahhabi extremist who see every other person as an infidel except he follows their way. His personal reason for speaking against Sheikh Zakzaky, beyond religion and faith, is that they shared the same father and not the same mother and so, they did not belong to the same room, that contest and envy the Zaria people refer to as ‘yan’ubanci’ reigns higher in him. To him those from other rooms/mothers must not achieve more than them in life. This is how morally low he is. In their maiden press conference after the Zaria attack, the Nigerian Army used Sani Yakubu as their joker putting him on the high table and treating him as a special guest with the Army spokesman even specially announcing his presence in the midst of the hungry ‘Arabic speaking idiots’ they gathered. They sponsored him to show support for their attack on Sheikh Zakzaky in order to douse tension and convince the public that their dirty work was in order. He was everywhere in the headlines blackmailing Sheikh Zakzaky. I heard a journalist describing him as the most stupid brother of the year.

    Sheikh Zakzaky had other brothers and sisters but were not contacted or quoted because they spoke against the Army inhumanity. In fact if Sheikh Zakzaky was a bad man as you are trying to depict, why did his elder sister Goggo Fatima sacrificed her life defending him that she was even burned alive by the Nigerian Army in the residence of Sheikh Zakzaky during the December attack? Why didn’t you talk about his nephew Shamsu the son of his brother Abdulqadir that was also brutally killed by the Army when he stood by the door blocking the Army from reaching Sheikh Zakzaky? Why don’t they quote Sheikh Abdulqadir whose son was murdered by the Army? Why don’t they quote Malam Badamasi who has been an ardent follower of the Sheikh? I know why, is because of mischief and calumny against Sheikh Ibraheen Zakzaky and not because of journalism and professionalism.

    I know journalists in Kaduna that attended the Army press conference at 1 Division in Kaduna after the Zaria massacre who Sani Yakubu begged not to report what he said because he was made to say it and is shameful. Therefore he lacks both morality and integrity to speak on Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky and the IMN and lacks any genuineness as a source of reference when speaking about Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzkay. In like manner everything you have quoted from him lack substance because they have failed the litmus test.

    Thirdly, you raised the issue of road blockage and even relating it to civil disobedience and also thinking that you are doing journalism. What a shame. Did President Muhammadu Buhari not block roads when he was campaigning to become Nigeria’s President? Why were he and all APC members not killed by the Army? Everybody blocks road in this country when the need for such arises. Even the church to which the Vice President Yemi Osimbajo belongs blocks one of the most busiest roads in West Africa, the Lagos Ibadan Express way for over three days several times every year and the church members have not been killed by the Nigerian Army. In several occasions even the Army is affected by the blockage but they never killed them because they are not Shi’ites I believe.

    Emirs block roads in the north during their Durbar every Sallah and even harass those who insist on using the roads. Mosques and Churches block roads on Fridays and Saturdays respectively. During festivals like yam festivals and carnivals roads are blocked and all these happen during the year and their adherents are not murdered by Nigerian Army. Why the IMN?

    I am not surprised that you bring up this issue because it says who you are writing for because it was one of the five changed reasons for the mass murder tendered by the Nigerian Army.

    The IMN does not in any way constitute any nuisance to the public because it is so organized in its activities and has the best records of crowd management in Africa.

    You falsely describe the IMN as an extremist group without any justification when you the writer have been part of events the movement had conducted along with non-Shi’ite Muslims and Christians alike. The IMN has been condemned by the majority Wahabbi Muslims for building bridges with Christian communities and joining them in their celebrations. I wonder where you have seen a religious extremist opening up to that extent and declaring every human being his brother either in faith or in humanity. IMN is the only Islamic group in the entire country that has a Christian Forum and has as part of its annual programs a Unity Week for Muslims.

    Definitely if you are looking for extremists look for them elsewhere and not in the Islamic Movement in Nigeria. Fourthly, the other point you brought was the one fabricated by the Kaduna state government to justify its role in the attack. This is the issue of Gyallesu residents rejoicing the absence of Sheikh Zakzaky. The Kaduna state government sponsored some individuals in the media in the name of some inexistent groups to blackmail the IMN in order to justify the Army genocide. The Kaduna state Governor Nasir El-Rufai himself even before announcing the establishment of his Judicial Commission of Inquiry indicted the Movement publicly accusing it of a lot of things he could not prove. It was in the process that those Gyallesu individuals were employed to smear the IMN and its leader. Most of those involved in the deal are Wahhabis who see the IMN as their enemy and the Army as fighting a Jihad for them by killing Shi’ites.

    Not for that, no body is rejoicing the absence of the Sheikh in Gyallesu. It was clear when Sheikh Zakzaky gave the Ramadan food items to the needy during the recently concluded Ramadan as he had done annually, the people received it and were happy and praying that the government of tyrant releases him. It was just a day into the process that the same thugs and drug addicts that were used by the Army to scavenge dead corpses of IMN members were hired by the state government through the same Wahhabi clerics to go and attack those that collected the food and seize and it from them lest they support Sheikh Zakzaky.

    I can clearly recall the incident of 2011 when General Buhari lost in the elections and his supporters went wild killing and burning properties of non-indigenes of Zaria mostly Christians presumed to be supporting the PDP. It was the residence of Sheikh Zakzaky that became the safety abode for them and were protected and looked after until the crises subsided. A lot of residents in Gyallesu relied on the IMN medical services for their health support. The entire Gyallesu is set free of rape and activities of the under-world with the presence of the Sheikh in the community. Most of the victims of such activities of the under-world were students from the Congo campus of ABU and Federal College of Education and a lot of such students have testimonies to tell.

    The absence of Sheikh Zakzaky is more like hell to the people of Zaria in general who make a lot of money from the millions of Sheikh Zakzaky’s followers that visit the town during various activities of the IMN. These include hotels, restaurants, shop owners and transporters who make more than what they make in three months in just one day of a major IMN event. A lot of them are now complaining and some have even closed down their businesses. I say is like hell because of the current hardship instituted on the Nigerian people by the government in addition to the absence of Sheikh Zakzaky.

    Definitely it is vague statement for any right thinking person to say that people are rejoicing the absence of Sheikh Zakzaky in Zaria, no, they are regretting his absence and wishing he comes back to them. It is only the government propagandists that make their own money by lying to the public about the reality on ground that are rejoicing while the verse population is left to suffer.

    Lastly, the fifth point you raised is the same point the security apparatus blackmailing the leader of the IMN and the movement are mischievously spreading on the social media. You gave a false picture of a rift within the movement claiming that there is fictionalization of the movement. The Movement is still what it is and has its network of information and activities as well as leadership chain that all the members still recognize and respect even in the absence of the revered Sheikh. You should know that it is a lie because a factionalized organization can never achieved what the movement had achieved since the Zaria pogrom by putting its opponents on the defensive.

    The movement since inception has been a peaceful, non-violent and unarmed movement. It is those in authority that have submitted themselves to the control of some foreign powers that allow themselves to be used in attacking the movement thereby helping them fight a proxy war against Iran and we all know who the arch-enemies of Iran are.

    There is never and will never be a time that the movement will ever attack or intimidate anybody anywhere. It is always the securities that have attacked the movement at will and then use the media to claim that there was a ‘clash between the Army and the Shi’ites’.

    Even in 2014 when the Army attacked the and killed 34 members of the Movement including three biological sons of the leader, two of whom were taken alive by Colonel Okuh and tortured to death. The attack was after the Pro-Palestinian rally when people were returning to their various destinations and not during the demonstration, whose road was blocked then? The Nigerian Army came shooting and killing innocent people going about their businesses just like that.

    I remember the case of an Igbo businessman, Mr Julius Anyanwu who saw no reason why the soldiers should be killing innocent people and confronted them at PZ round about in Zaria on that fateful day asking them to stop the killing and they killed him at close range.

    The Army was even selective during the killing looking for the children of Sheikh Zakzaky in particular and whisked them away where they tortured them to death. Ali who survived the tortured revealed what happened but was murdered by the same Nigerian Army along with two of his siblings during the December 2015 attack.

    The Pro-Palestinian demonstration of 2016 otherwise called International Quds Day you claimed was peaceful because the IMN now are law abiding was peaceful not because anything had changed from what and how it used to be as you mischievously depicted. It was peaceful because the government did not decide to attack the demonstration.

    If the government had attacked it the news would be different. It was the same assembly, the same people on the same Nigerian roads demonstrating with the same and even greater spirit than before. So what has changed? Ask the journalists that were there because you were not there.

    It was not all that rosy anyway because in Sokoto the Nigerian Police kidnapped four young boys after the Pro-Palestinian demonstration and addressed a press conference claiming that they have arrested Shi’ites with dangerous weapons. Thanks to the timely intervention of our lawyers and they were released on bail.

    Have you ever stopped for minute to ask yourself why anyone would attack a pro-Palestinian rally or demonstration? In whose interest is he attacking it? That would tell you who he is working for.

    Finally, you quoted something I posted on facebook and claimed that it was a circular proving that there was faction in the movement. It was simply a post on my wall on facebook which I know the security and perpetrators of the Zaria massacre are not happy about.

    They are only trying to create ways to blackmail the IMN by using some security agents to pose as Shi’ites. Those people have never been with and are never part of the IMN. Their job is to spread calumny against the leader of the IMN in particular and propagate that he is not Shi’ite and that Shi’ism instructs one to be obedient to oppressive authority.

    They abuse and insult Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky and promote and eulogize President Buhari and General Buratai for killing IMN members. Do you need to be told who they are working for as a member of IMN o even as an objective onlooker?

    Their intention is to create an artificial tension between the IMN and those claiming they are Shi’ites so that the security would go and eliminate one of them and then point accusing fingers at the IMN. They have done it to us in Sokoto using one cleric called Danmaishiyya and have tried and failed in Zaria using another cleric called Albani. I wrote that post and even commented on some posts to draw the attention of IMN members not to fall victims to that plot. As part of the IMN peace mechanism we thought keeping silent to all their activities is the best.

     

    • Giwa writes from Zaria, Kaduna State
  • Zaria and the Shi’ites without El-Zakzaky

    Zaria and the Shi’ites without El-Zakzaky

    Though the group is continuing with its numerous programmes and activities, there is no doubt that last December clash between a detachment of the Nigerian Army and members of Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), otherwise known as Shi’ites movement and the subsequent arrest and detention of its national leader, Sheikh Ibrahim Yakubu El-Zakzaky, has thrown the group off balance. Abdulgafar Alabelewe reports.

    SHEIKH Ibrahim Zakzaky has, for about three decades, remained the leader of the Shi’ites group in Nigeria. Not only has he called the shot in the movement, he is also the link between the financiers of the the Islamic sect in Iran and its Nigerian followers. Stories, as gathered from sources within and outside the movement, have it that that Zakzaky, the acclaimed founder of the Shi’ites movement in Nigeria, came in contact with the the Iranians who lured him into the movement in the late 70s. To his credit, he succeeded in gathering a large followership within a short period.
    Born on May 5, 1953, the outspoken Zakzaky was said to have started propagating the Shi’ite sect of Islam when he was still a student at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. This was during the time of the Iranian revolution, which saw Iran’s monarchy overthrown and replaced with an Islamic republic under the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini.
    An elder brother to Zakzaky, Malam Sani Yakubu once said that, “when Ibrahim graduated from the School of Arabic and Islamic Studies (SAS) in Kano, he started writing letters to different countries especially China and Iran. He developed interest in relating with China largely because China had revolutionalised her economy through agriculture and moved her people out of hunger.
    “Iran was responding to his letters by sending their books to him; trying to lure him into their creed of Shiite. Because of that, he turned his attention to Iran, especially after the Ayatollah’s revolution in 1979. They started having meetings in England every year, before they moved their meetings to Iran. When Iran attained certain level of development, he sometimes travelled there twice in a year.
    “When we saw that, we decided to start counselling him, particularly with our teachers, Malam Sani Abdulqadir and Malam Usman Maccido. This is because even at that time we know that Shia is not Islam. Based on that, we sat him down to tell him the implication of what he was doing. He kept saying that he was not into Shi’a that he was only into struggle for revival of Islam. This started in early 1980s. When we realised that he would not listen, largely because it involves a lot of money, we left him alone.
    “But our elder brother, Malam Abdulqadir Yakubu, did not stop counselling him. In fact, about a week or so before their clash with the Army, our elder brother wrote him. In the letter, he told him that what they were doing is not part of Islam.”
    The Shia according to El-Zazakky
    Zakzaky believed that the establishment of a republic along similar religious lines in Nigeria would be feasible. Though, he was detained several times due to accusations of civil disobedience and recalcitrance under military regimes in Nigeria during the 1980s and 1990s, the 2015 clash of the Shi’ites and Army seems the most devastating to the group so far.
    The Shi’ites group before the December 12-14, 2015 incident was unknown to many, especially Nigerians of Southern extraction. To Northerners however, they were a group of extremists who often disturb non-members’ peace.
    An average northerner and other Nigerian resident in the North has had one unpleasant encounter or the other with the Zakzaky group. It is either one’s movement was at one time or another disrupted by protesting Shi’ite members, or they grounded activities in areas where their events took place.
    During their numerous processions, the group which allegedly has its own security forces, subjected other road users to security checks, in some cases force motorists to one lane of a dual carriage way a or even block the road in many cases.
    Reports have it that, members of the movement had at different times forced convoy of the Emir of Zazzau, who is the Chairman of the Kaduna State Traditional Rulers Council, Alhaji Shehu Idris and that of former Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero to change their routes. The same treatment was what the Army resisted in 2015, when similar procession insisted that the Chief of Army Staff’s convoy must change route.
    And the residents rejoice
    Residents of Gyellesu, a Zaria community where Sheikh Zakzaky resides have bitter tales to tell about their living with the Shi’ites. Though, they could not complain before December 2015, due to fear of intimidations, the area went into jubilation when Zakzaky was whisked away.
    A Chieftain of Gyellesu community, Malam Mu’izzu Daruddeen recently said, Zazzau Emirate is now safe and conducive without Sheik Ibrahim El-zakzaky. He said, the ancient city and its environs had recorded “sudden positive change” in its day-to-day activities.
    According him, “as peace loving organisation and patriotic citizens of this nation, we are in support of anything that will promote peace, unity and harmonious relationship among people. Every resident of Zaria is affected directly or indirectly by the self-acclaimed powers and disregard for traffic rules by the Shi’ite members in Zaria, especially when it comes to the use of public roads.
    “These Shi’ite members consider any other person as a second class citizen who has no rights and privileges. Whenever the leader of the Shi’ite was going for preaching, he would be escorted by youths bearing dangerous weapons. These boys traumatised and brutally dealt with anybody while El-zakzaky was on transit. Complaints to police at different times did not yield any result,” he said.
    When El-zakzaky was in Gyallesu, the area became a home to all kinds of criminals because his boys did not allow uniform personnel into the area, no matter the level of crime committed. These boys used to search anybody that is coming into the area irrespective of his or her status.
    “Again, once they lock up the gates at night you have no right to go out for whatever reason. The kind of loyalty these boys accorded El-zakzaky was second to none. They see him as a messiah. They neither have respect for constitution nor any constituted authority. His instruction is the final.” Daruddeen said.
    Cracks in the wall
    However, since the detention of the IMN leader, things have not been the same with the Shi’ite group. One, the December incident has no doubt crippled the group’s excesses and robbed it of its excessive powers. Secondly, the Zakzaky who has the direct link with those funding the group in Iran is out of reach of his followers.
    His absence has equally led to what can be termed as the fictionalization of the Shi’ite group. Though, its leader yet unknown, a faction of the movement has, since the arrest of Zakzaky dissociated itself from the Zakzaky led IMN. It has equally continued to preach against Zakzaky the principles for which the detained leader stood.
    The IMN which felt threatened by the the development recently issued a warning circular to its members. The circular issued by a chieftain of the IMN Media Forum, Abdulmumini Giwa, alleged that the faction was a parallel Shi’ite group created by the Israeli and Saudi Arabian authorities.
    According to Giwa in the circular published on the official website of the movement, “I will like to use this medium to remind my fellow brothers in Islam that a parallel Shi’ite group has been founded by Israel and Saudi Arabia to fight against the Islamic Movement in Nigeria which they consider as the only threat to them.
    “They are working hand-in-hand with the compromised Nigerian security apparatus to ensure they stop the Islamic Movement under the leadership of Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky. The Israeli’s are after fighting the increasing Iranian influence while the Saudi’s are against the fast spreading of Shi’ism in Africa which is a threat to their terror laden Wahabism.
    “Some of the steps they have taken includes founding a fake Shi’ite organization to counter the growth and strength of IMN. You will notice that the only thing they do is attack the personality and person of the IMN leader Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky.Their aim is not to preach love for Ahli Bayt but to drive people away from Sheikh Zakzaky who they see as a threat.
    “The Saudis have invested millions of dollars on this contract and are not only funding the Arabic speaking idiots to spread Wahabism and institute lies against Shi’ites and Shi’ism, they are also bribing northern state governors to always clampdown on the IMN members to scare them away from the revered Sheikh.
    “The attack, killing and subsequent arrest of members of thhe IMN in Zaria last December was part of the plan which they are still pursuing. Currently they are sponsoring campaigns on social media to discredit the personality of Sheikh Zakzaky and spread lies and calumny against him, and by all means show people that he is not Shi’ite so that they can pull away his followers, supporters and sympathizers who they see as following him because of Shi;ism. Most of those presently engaged in this smear campaign are people of questionable character who pose as religious persons.
    “You will always see them pretending to be Shi’ites and attacking Sheikh Zakzaky. I advice that you remain steadfast and resolute as always, for they have already failed as usual,” the circular read.
    In the area funding however, the Shi’ite group have practically resulted to taxing members to run their programmes. Though, they have state leaders, none of them is yet to assume Zakzaky’s position as the custodian of the movement’s resources and power.
    Similarly, one would observe from their recent events that the once powerful Shi’ite group has now become a friendly, and ‘law abiding’ Islamic sect. Law abiding in the sense that, they are now conscious of the existence of security agencies. Agreed, they still don’t get police permission to stage protests or processions, but they now quickly disperse when security agents appear to stop their gatherings.
    The group held its annual Qud’s Day procession in several Northern cities last week, without any reported attack or harassment of other citizens. All these are indications that, Shi’ite without Zakzaky is no longer at ease.

  • El-Zakzaky being held in protective custody, says DSS

    El-Zakzaky being held in protective custody, says DSS

    The Department of State Services (DSS) has said leader of the Shi’ite Islamic Movement, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, is being held in protective custody.

    Counsel to DSS, Tijjani Gazali told reporters at the Federal High Court in Abuja that El-Zakzaky was in danger and the decision to keep him in “protective custody” is in line with the duty of the DSS to “protect” every Nigerian.

    “He needs not give his consent, but the point is that he remains vulnerable and is under protective custody, and the job of the DSS is to protect every Nigerian. He is being held at his own will and for his benefit,” Gazali said.

    Counsel to El-Zakzaky Mr. Festus Okoye said he was not aware that his client had consented to his detention.

    “They told us that he is being held at his own will, but we are yet to hear that from him. So until we consult him and he says that, then we can confirm it,” Okoye said.

    The trial was scheduled to continue yesterday after it was adjourned in May, following the absence of the respondents to the fundamental rights suit, namely the DSS and the Police.

    At yesterday’s sitting, Mr. Gazali asked for a further adjournment to allow him prepare a counter affidavit to the motion by the defendant. The application was not contended by Mr. Okoye.

    Justice Kolawole adjourned till July 13 for continuation of hearing.

  • El-Zakzaky’s N2b suit suffers setback

    El-Zakzaky’s N2b suit suffers setback

    The N2 billion suit filed by Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenat, against the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and the Attorney-General of Kaduna State could not be heard yesterday.

    This followed the absence of the Army and COAS.

    El-Zakzaky and his wife through their lawyers led by Maxwell Kyon, had filed an application demanding N2 billion as general damages for violating their rights.

    However, two of the respondents, the Army and COAS, were absent and were not represented by any lawyer.

    The lead counsel to the AGF demanded sufficient time to file his response, saying El-Zakzaky’s application did not get to him in time. The president judge granted the request.

    Justice Saleh Musa Shuaibu of the Federal High Court, Kaduna, adjourned the case till June 7 on the grounds that it is very sensitive and as such all parties should be given fair hearing.

    He ordered that the Army and COAS be served another notice.

  • Shi’ite chief El-Zakzaky terrorised Zaria, says Emirate

    Shi’ite chief El-Zakzaky terrorised Zaria, says Emirate

    The Zazzau Emirate Development Association (ZEDA) yesterday testified against the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), otherwise called the Shi’ite.

    It said the movement terrorised the emirate for years.

    Spokesman for ZEDA Mohammed Balarabe, who appeared before the Judicial Commission of Enquiry in Kaduna, narrated how the movement terrorised the emirate.

    He said the group took the law into its hands and shut roads while holding processions.

    Balarabe said whenever the movement had outings, they (people of Zaria emirate) were forced to stay indoors.

    He said the last December 12 clash between the IMN and the Army was not the first, noting that the group is violent.

    The ZEDA spokesman cited instances when the body had encounters with the Emir of Zaria, Alhaji Shehu Idris and ex-Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero.

    He recalled that the movement had encounters with previous administrations.

    Balarabe said the Shi’ite leader, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky and his followers were not members of ZEDA, adding that they refused to register with the association.

    Said he: “We are familiar with the movement’s actions in the 20 years of its existence. As someone who attended the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, we know where the shoe pinches.

    “Whenever we heard they had outings, we stayed away because it would bring hardship. They shut roads.”

     

  • Zaria clash: Zakzaky’s brother backs Army action

    Zaria clash: Zakzaky’s brother backs Army action

    Elder brother of the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria otherwise known as Shiite group, Sheikh Ibraheem Yaqoob El-Zakzaky, Muhammad Sani Yaqoob, yesterday said he is very happy with the actions taken by the Nigerian Army in the last December clash between the Army and the Shi’ites in Zaria.

    Muhammad Sani Yaqoob, made this submission at the ongoing Judicial Commission of inquiry probing the clash in Kaduna on Monday.

    He continued when he said, the Nigerian Army would have been useless if they had made a u-turn on the spot of the Zaria clash where the members of the Shi’ites group barricaded the convoy of the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai.

    Muhammad, who spoke in Hausa told the gathering that he shared the same father with El-Zakzaky, but different mothers. He said there was no clash between him and El-Zakzaky while growing up except that he has different ideology.

    He said El-Zakzaky is 4th child in the family of 16, describing him as very sharp and intelligent.

    Muhammad Sani Yaqoob who is also the Chairman of Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah Wa’iqamatis Sunnah, (JIBWIS) in Zaria  said the Shiite group were being funded by Iran.

    According to him, “They are funded by Iran. They go to Iran twice in a year and they meet there. I have people who after they come back from their trip do come and tell me,” he said.

    He said the Second in Command to Sheikh El-Zakzaky, Muhammad Turi fueled the Army/Shiite clash, with the Sheikh himself as the root cause.

    However, he recommended to the sitting that whoever is found wanting after compilation of its report should be made to face the wrath of the Law.

  • El-Zakzaky: House Committee visits Zaria, promises fairness

    El-Zakzaky: House Committee visits Zaria, promises fairness

    The House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence on Wednesday promised to be fair to all parties involved in the military/shiite clash which occurred in Zaria, Kaduna State last month.

    The Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Aminu Jaji, made the disclosure in an interview with journalists shortly after he led the Committee members to various scenes of the clash in Zaria.

    He said “we are here to ascertain what actually happened on Dec. 12, 2015 between the military and members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria also known as Shiite.

    “We have visited the scenes; we have spoken to the public and we are satisfied with what the people told us; we will make sure we do everything within the ambit of the law to avoid a recurrence.’’

    Jaji appealed to the public to be law abiding and endeavour to sustain the prevailing peace in the country.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the committee had earlier paid homage to the Emir of Zazzau, Dr Shehu Idris, at his palace.

    The Emir appreciated the Committee for the visit, saying it demonstrated the members’ efforts and concern toward lasting peace in the country.

    During the visit to the various demolished scenes, the Committee members sought for public opinion as they moved.

  • Army/El Zakzaky showdown

    Let me begin with nostalgia about beautiful, peaceful Nigeria of the 1970s where religious tolerance was manifest, violent cults were unknown and one can travel any time, even all night, without any fear. Today, Nigeria has changed, for the worse, as extremist religious dissidents, communal warriors, violent criminals and other sundry deviants ravage the land.

    One recent incident brought these nostalgic thoughts into bold relief: the army’s confrontation with Sheikh Ibraheem El Zakzaky’s Islamic Movement in Zaria, Kaduna State between December 12-14, 2015. It highlighted the near state of anomie in the land in which various dissident groups have carved out ‘kingdoms’ over which they preside, according to their own rules.  This is why a religious group could so brazenly bar the country’s Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai,   from ‘trespassing’ over ‘its territory’!  It is the height of provocation, an arrogant repudiation of state authority denying the army chief’s official entourage passage on a public road. We cannot mince words or become mealy-mouthed in this kind of encounter.

    For law and order to be restored in this country, the authority of the state must be asserted at all times. Revelations since the encounter indicate El Zakzaky runs a fiefdom in Zaria with non members of his movement being literally ‘hostages’, which informed the jubilation by neighbours who felt liberated by the army’s showdown with the sect. That the group had successfully intimidated the former Kaduna State governor, Ramalan Yero, who was denied passage on that road earlier in 2015, must have emboldened El Zakzaky’s faithful to attempt to face down the army chief. It amounted to El Zakzaky, wittingly or unwittingly, inducing his flock to commit suicide. Spiritually and psychologically enslaved religious fanatics are prone to this type of tragedy. An American Christian evangelist had, decades ago, taken his flock to Guyana in Central America and induced them to drink cyanide, a poison, to go to heaven– of course, they all died.

    In relating with the military, we need to understand the mentality of army personnel – soldiers, especially infantry men and commandos, are trained to kill and against the background of humiliation recently suffered by the army from the Islamist Boko Haram insurgents, the El Zakzaky dare would seem to the soldiers one more humiliation by a religious group that cannot stand and should not stand.  I believe the greater blame should be on the leadership of the Islamic Movement for putting its followers in harm’s way. For El Zakzaky who reportedly lost three sons in an earlier encounter with security agents, one would expect some level of soberness. We need to ask: What does the Islamic Movement stand to gain in its mindless, avoidable confrontation with state authorities? How do such confrontations improve their religious purity?  What is the value-added to the Movement?  El Zakzaky, we are told, is a First Class graduate of Economics from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Brilliant guy. Why then has he chosen this path?  Are there no people such religious leaders like El Zakzaky respect who can be a moderating influence on them?  El Zakzaky reminds one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, celebrated author of the classic Sherlock Holmes series who once noted, with respect to Prof. Moriaty whose criminal exploits became a European nightmare, that when a brilliant mind turns anti-establishment, to crime, he is most dangerous.

    One wonders whether at any point in time El Zakzaky takes the sanctity of life of his followers into consideration. Why would a leader with such faithful followership, create a situation where such followers become cannon fodder in his confrontation with the state?  An interview in the Nigerian Tribune of Jan. 9, with Isa Waziri Gwantu, a mass communication lecturer at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and an El Zakzaky devotee, is illustrative of the frightening level of indoctrination and mindset of those hooked on the opium of religion. Asked why the sect is always having problems with security operatives, Gwantu asserted:  “it is not unconnected to the war declared on Muslims all over the world by ‘globalists’. It is not a secret that the Nigerian security agencies are proxies of the forces behind the ordeals of Muslims in different parts of the world like Palestine, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Myanmar”. Does this not smack of El Zakzaky followers being brainwashed to perceive security operatives as enemy forces that must be resisted?

    The army has been accused of overkill in its reaction and various bodies are putting the military on the spot. While we await the outcome of the investigations and probes, the public and its component groups must appreciate that in a Nigeria edging towards a lawless jungle, the essence of government is to maintain public order, a responsibility of armed security agencies, and people are better advised not to engage in conduct bordering on anarchy that will incur serious repercussions. It is a practical reality. The army, speaking through the General Officer Commanding (GOC) One Mechanised Division, based in Kaduna, Maj. Gen. Adeniyi Oyebade, at a press conference on January 6, had been unequivocal that it had no apology for the encounter with the Islamic Movement. The GOC had declared: “ The so-called clash was avoidable, the Nigerian Army has no issues with the Shi’ite members … We have problem with those who choose to challenge the authority of the state, who do not recognize the laws of the land…So, in the cause of doing our work we make no apology to any group”. The army, in the circumstances, cannot be expected to surrender to orchestrated public opinion, including those of bleeding heart Columnists and editorial writers, who often fail to call renegade groups and neo-anarchists to order but would rather make excuses for these public-disorder elements. This disposition cannot foster the peace we all so earnestly desire in the land.

    The showdown between the Islamic Movement and the Nigerian Army has lessons for the government and members of the public. A major function of government is surveillance of the environment which entails monitoring activities of groups –religious, communal, cultural, ethnic, professional as well as individuals. Religious leaders should, particularly, come under continuous surveillance, because these leaders have a hold on people’s hearts and emotions that no other institution of society commands. This monitoring is to preempt deviant and hate preaching. But government must also strive to regain people’s trust by being pro-people in its policies. Many perceive government as an oppressive institution from which they escape to seek spiritual refuge in the religions which makes it possible for religious leaders, Muslim and Christian, to play God.

    As for the public, we need to relate with armed security operatives with caution and restraint considering that are often irritable and seem to be permanently under stress.  That is the reality we have to deal with, for now, till our security agencies become more civil. To tauntingly provoke or confront an armed person is suicidal.  Period.

    • Dr. Olawunmi, a Senior Lecturer, Department of Mass Communication, Bowen University, Iwo is former Washington Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
  • El-Zakzaky’s detention

    El-Zakzaky’s detention

    •We should follow the rule of law

    What triggered military violence in Zaria, Kaduna State, last December, resulting in the death of Shiite Muslims shot by soldiers? What about Shiite leader Ibrahim El-Zakzaky who is in detention on account of the incident?

    Reactions from two significant quarters highlighted the seriousness of the crisis that generated another round of tension in the country as the year drew to a close. The Senate set up an ad hoc panel to probe the incident in which 61 Shiites were reportedly shot dead by soldiers who were allegedly protecting the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai, from attack. Senate President Bukola Saraki said: “The Senate is seriously concerned and committed to ensuring that peace reigns in our dear country…”

    It is a measure of the dimensions of the clash that senators from seven standing committees of the upper legislative chamber were given the responsibility to get to the root of the problem. The investigators are from the committees on Defence, Intelligence and National Security, Judiciary and Human Rights, Army, Police Affairs, Internal Affairs, and Foreign Affairs.

    Also, the 19-member Northern States Governors’ Forum responded to the conflict with an emergency meeting in Kaduna. Chairman of the group and Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima said: “The issue has to do with an Islamic group that has membership across the 19 states in the North and beyond. We want to look how to ensure that the incident does not provide room for anyone or group to perpetuate violence in any of the 19 northern states.”

    Shettima’s hint was unmistakable as it raised the spectre of terrorism, especially against the background of the ongoing terror war against Boko Haram Islamists terrorising parts of the country’s northern region.

    Thoughts of possible extremism were not far-fetched.  Shettima noted:  ”When Boko Haram went wild in July 2009 with clashes between them and the police in Bauchi on 25th and 26th in Maiduguri, most Nigerians saw the issues as the problems of Bauchi and Borno. When they continued to attack Borno and Yobe, it became the affairs of Borno and Yobe states. All of a sudden, there was suicide attack in Abuja in 2012 and then everything went out of control and we are where we are today.”

    Indeed, the country cannot afford another terrorism-related conflagration while one is still burning. Although the Shiites are not Boko Haram and there may be no solid grounds for comparison, it is important to nip the trouble in the bud.

    There are conflicting versions of what led to the killings. Officially, the army accused the sect of an assassination attempt on its boss, saying that Shiites “barricaded the roads with bonfires, heavy stones and tyres” which prevented his convoy from advancing. “They refused all entreaties to disperse and then started firing and pelting the convoy with dangerous objects,” the army claimed. The sect’s counter-statement alleged that “the military had pre-planned this and had acted according to their mischievous script.”

    It is disturbing that the bloodletting was another in a series of clashes that have characterised relations between security agents and members of the Muslim Brotherhood. The tragic killing of three sons of El-Zakzaky, allegedly perpetrated by soldiers in similar circumstances in July last year, was another instance of the seemingly unending conflict.

    It is high time the authorities tackled the recurring tragedy. Just as no sect should be allowed to constitute a menace to the society, the army should not be allowed to act in a manner that amounts to killing an ant with a sledgehammer.

    The complication of El-Zakzaky’s detention without formal charges does not help matters. It is worrying that his supporters have expressed anxiety about his whereabouts and safety. The rule of law should prevail, meaning that justice should be pursued in civilised ways.

  • El-Zakzaky remanded in prison

    El-Zakzaky remanded in prison

    •Gumi: he ran parallel govt for 40 years

    •Shi’ite: allegation untrue

    Leader of the Shi’ite Islamic sect Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky was yesterday remanded in prison custody by a chief magistrate.

    He was arraigned at the Chief Magistrates’ Court 1, Zaria Road, Kaduna and charged with criminal conspiracy and inciting public disturbances.

    Some of his supporters were arraigned with him.

    Police spokesperson Olabisi Kolawole confirmed the arraignment and remand of the Shi’ite leader.

    She said: “The Shi’ite leader has been arraigned at a magistrates’ court and charged with criminal conspiracy, inciting public disturbances, among others. He has been remanded in prison custody and the case adjourned.”

    The Shi’ite leader was arrested after his members blocked the path of the Chief of Army Staff in Zaria, leading to a clash with soldiers. Many sect members were killed.

    Army Chief Lt.-Gen Tukur Buratai said last week that he was no longer in the custody of the army, but with the agency of government responsible for prosecution of suspects.

    Inspector General of Police Solomon Arase confirmed that  the Islamic leader was with them.

    Kaduna-based Islamic scholar Sheikh Ahmad Abubakar Gumi has alleged that Sheikh El-Zakzaky ran a parallel government in the North for 40 years.

    Addressing reporters yesterday, Gumi said: “The Shi’ites have been embarking on military training and producing cadets and soldiers. They are operating a state within a state.”

    According to him, “the Islamic Movement of Nigeria does not recognise the corporate entity of the country. The group is not registered. Members operate above the law and get direct foreign aid.”

    Gumi said ex-President Umaru Yar’adua told him of the massive importation of arms and ammunition in parts of the country, citing Iran as a supplier of arms to the Shi’ites.

    The doctor-turned Islamic scholar said the clash between Shi’ites and soldiers was “a divine intervention to prevent us from a catastrophe as that of Boko Haram.”

    He said he wrote Zakzaky about a year ago, warning him about the dangers of blocking roads during the annual Ar’baeen trek, when his followers trekked from all over the country to Zaria.

    Gumi said blocking roads was an abomination in Islam.

    The scholar said the North would be underdeveloped if Shia and Boko Haram were not eradicated, adding: “Unnecessary blocking of roads and shouting of slogans increase tension in the North.”

    The Shi’ite group, however, said: “Gumi’s allegation that we ran a parallel govt is not true, because a government exists when it has a standing army and a territory, which we don’t have. We don’t even own a mosque, we pray with other Muslims.

    “How can there be two governments for 40 years in the same territory without war? We pay taxes and are law-abiding. For the past 40 years, nobody can claim we attacked or molested him.”