Members of the Shi’ite sect ignited a crisis on Saturday when they blocked the road, stopping the convoy of Army chief Lt.-Gen Tukur Buratai in Zaria, ABDULGAFAR ALABELEWE reports.
Buratai: God saved
me from sect members
CHIEF of Army Staff (COAS) Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai yesterday said that God saved him from members of the Shiite sect during his encounter with them on Zaria/Jos Road at the weekend. He described the sect members as violent.
Lt.-Gen. Buratai stated this in an interview with reporters in Abuja after interacting with members of the Senate Committee on Defence.
A cross-fire ensued on Saturday in Zaria, Kaduna State between Shiite adherents and the convoy of the COAS which led to loss of lives.
Buratai said: “You want to know how I escaped? It was by the grace of God that I was able to escape from that place. I think NTA was there and they aired the clip, it was very clear. They were violent, definitely this is very clear. The clips are there. That was what happened.”
The Army chief who urged Nigerians to be law abiding, insisted that “nobody should take the law into his hands”.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, Samaila Aliyu, who also appeared before the Senate Committee, said that the ministry was planning to pay N10.6 billion compensation to some claimants.
According to him, the compensation fund had been built into the 2016 Budget.
His words: “We have judgments that have been delivered against us. Some have gone up to the Supreme Court. One is for N8.5 billion and the other is for N2.1 billion. We have backed the request with the judgments.”
The Committee Chairman, Senator Ahmed Lawan, told the Service chiefs that members of the committee were interested in information on funds used to procure equipment.
Lawan said: “We are interested in the funds used for the purchase of equipment. We should have the necessary information and we are particularly glad that equipment has improved. But, so many allegations have been established about the arms purchase scandal.
“Perhaps, at the end of the day, Nigeria will be better when the issues are sorted out and what is meant for equipment for the Army will be used appropriately. The committee will like to know the performance of the 2015 Budget in the ministry of Defence and other institutions under the ministry. That will form the basis we will use to work on the 2016 budget.”
“We are also interested in what is happening in the Niger Delta. We were once loading 400, 000 barrel of oil per day. We will like to know how the Joint Task Force (JTF) and the Navy have been performing their duties without mandate.
“Those arrested over the years need to be known and crude recovered from bunkers should be made available. We do not know if the oil thieves were prosecuted and if the stolen oil was recovered. We want to reduce it to a tolerable level so that it doesn’t harm our economy.
“You can rely on us but only transparency will ensure the relationship and I am sure it will not be a difficult thing to do because President Muhammadu Buhari believes in accountability and transparency.”
Apart from Lt.-Gen. Buratai, other Service chiefs were also at the interactive session.
Sect alleges leader’s
wife, son, others killed
•Army: Zakzaky, wife in protective custody
The sect has claimed that the wife of its leaders, a son, the second-in-command were killed in the shootout with soldiers on Saturday.
It alleged a military siege to its leader’s Zaria home. But the military disagreed, saying the sect leader and his wife were in protective custody.
Sources said soldiers, on receiving an alert that the sect members were regrouping, mobilised and surrounded El-Zakzaky’s home on Sunday at Gyallesu, Zaria.
An associate of the Shi’ite leader, Malam Aliyu Abba, said residents could not sleep throughout the night.
The sect alleged that El-Zakzaky was whisked away by soldiers after destroying his home.
The statement, entitled: ‘Indiscriminate killing of members of the Islamic Movement by the Nigerian Army in Zaria’, was signed by President of the Media Forum of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria Malam Ibrahim Musa.
It alleged that the wife of its leader, Malama Zeenat Ibraheem Zakzaky, his son, Aliyu Ibraheem Zakzaky, the sect’s leader in Kano and the adjudged second-in-command to Sheikh Zakzaky, Sheikh Muhammad Turi, the group’s spokesman, Malam Ibrahim Usman and Dr. Mustapha Sa’eed were among those killed by soldiers.
The statement said: “Following the alleged blockade of the route of the Chief of Army Staff by members of the movement, the Army brutally descended on harmless members of the movement, killing indiscriminately.
“Leading members of the Islamic movement and other members as well, were killed by soldiers, including leader of the Kano Centre, Sheikh Muhammad Turi, Dr. Mustapha Sa’eed, Malam Ibrahim Usman and Sister Jummai Gilima.
“Also killed were Sayyid Aliy, son of leader of the Movement, Sayyid Ibraheem Zakzaky (H), wife of Sayyid Ibraheem Zakzaky (H), Malama Zeenat Ibraheem and others. More are being killed as at the time of this statement.
“The sporadic killings took place at three locations including home of the revered leader of the movement at Gyallesu, the Husainiyya Bakiyatullah at the GRA and the Darur Rahma on the Zaria-Jos Road where many harmless people were killed.”
“The killing was so brutal at Gyallesu that even those injured were identified and killed in cold blood by the soldiers. As at the time of writing this statement, the victims run into their hundreds, if not thousands.
“Considering the gross violation of fundamental human rights and extra-judicial killings perpetrated by the Army, the Islamic Movement condemns these unjustifiable acts.
“We state categorically that the claim by the Army that members attempted to assassinate the Chief of Army Staff was a blatant lie, as the Army came back to launch their attack more than an hour after the COAS passed.
“The Federal Government, through its military, is now on the rampage, in an all-out war with the Islamic movement, its members and structures. The scale of this attack will suggest it was meticulously planned by authorities and now being executed ruthlessly. The alleged attack on COAS Burutai was just an alibi.
“Therefore, with all pointers at the government as the contractor of the killings, we call on Nigerians and the international community to intervene and seek redress for the victims and their family, as many innocent people have unjustifiably been killed and many others injured.
“In the meantime, there is no idea as to the whereabouts of leader of the movement, Sayyid Ibraheem Zakzaky (H) nor his present condition, and aggrieved members of the movement across the country have taken to the streets in protests.”
NIGERIAN Muslims are mainly Sunnis. But there is the Shi’ite minority, particularly in the northern states of Kano, Kaduna and Sokoto, the seat of the Caliphate. There are, however no statistics to determine the exact Shi’ite population in the country, but to give the sect a five per cent of the Muslim population would be on the high side.
The Shi’ite sect, which has in last two decades been in the news for the not-too-good-reasons was “almost unknown” until the 1980s when Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky introduced Shia Islam. The sect became known as it gained large followership among those disenchanted with the political and religious establishments.
It was learnt that the El-Zakzaky-led Islamic Movement of Nigeria, otherwise known as Shi’ite, was promoting an ideology with little or no regard for political institutions and claiming that it could not be subservient to the authority except those established under Islamic tenets.
The control of Kaduna, being the base of the Shi’ite leader, was reportedly slipping away from the government’s control until the coming of the then military administrator of Kaduna State, Col. Hammed Ali. Ali, a retired officer is the Comptroller-General, Nigerian Customs Service (NCS).
In the past, members of the Shi’ite group were indoctrinated to jettison their beliefs in the establishment, to the extent that those who had earlier acquired western education were setting their certificates ablaze to pledge allegiance to an Islamic government under the group.
It was against this background that Col. Ali’s government confronted the sect and its leader. Sheikh Ibrahim Yakubu El-Zakzaky was relocated from the outskirts of Zaria, where he allegedly operated his ‘Islamic’ government to Zaria town.
The sect’s operation was unpronounced until the return of democracy in 1999, when former Governor Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi-led administration accorded El-Zakzaky recognition as a member of Islamic scholars in the state.
Since 1999, Shi’ite, as an Islamic sect, had enjoyed such constitutional right. But, ironically, the group that enjoyed an unfettered right to worship, had always been accused of trampling on the rights of others to free movement and in some cases, its members accused of taking the law into their hands.
Unlike other Islamic sects, Shi’ite had always had reasons to mount processions involving thousands of its members, including women and children, trekking from one city to the other.
Travellers on the Kaduna-Zaria Road and Kano-Zaria Road are often forced to ply on half of the road, at least twice yearly. Though, the group had always claimed to apply for approval from relevant security agencies before embarking on any procession, its members have never been guided by policemen or the officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).
Residents of Kaduna, Zaria, Kano and other Northern Nigerian cities have been at the mercy of the sect’s members anytime they troop to the streets. The group, which has its own security personnel, subject to thorough checks before being allowed to pass.
Several times, members of the sect have barricaded the roads in Zaria, the base of their leader, subjecting motorists and cyclists to thorough check. In most cases, the roads were closed to vehicles.
The blockage of roads became the genesis of the sect’s problem with the security agents. In July last year, the Shiites clashed with soldiers in Zaria. Thirty-five persons died during a procession to celebrate Quds Day, as well as demonstrating against military operations on Gaza by Israeli forces.
Three of the 35 victims were sons of Sheik El-Zakzaky.
After last year’s incident, prominent Islamic scholar in the North, Sheik Ahmad Mahmud Gumi, in an open letter to El-Zakzaky, told him he was leading millions of youths astray and that, Allah will not forgive him if he (Zakzaky) dies without repenting.
In the letter titled: “My Brother Ibraheem El-Zakzaky: It’s not too late to repent”, Gumi said: “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.
“What I fear most for you and your followers is that the consequence of this tragedy may further alienate your group from the mainstream society and create a cult -if it’s not already one – with disastrous consequences on you, your followers and the nation at large. For you especially, on the Day of Judgment you will have your account to answers.
“My brother, you have brought a lot of bad innovations among Nigerian Muslims that rather than unite the Muslims are further entrenching the divide without any added value to the worldly development nor the hereafter, but rather with serious theological implications in the hereafter.
“What triggered my attention to your group now is the most recent close encounter I made with a procession of your followers on the highway from Kano to Zaria yesterday (December 8, 2014) on my way to Dutse, about four to six thousand youths and children, trekking long distance for hours. I gave a two hour lecture in Duste and met them still trekking on my way back.
“I cannot understand under which civil or religious law you have the right and liberty to block one side of the double carriage road, forcing motorists to cramp 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 sane, except of course, the disgruntled.”
Concluding his letter, Gumi wrote: “Brother, I write you this open letter for others also not necessarily in your sect to get admonition. It is never intended to trigger a sectarian argument. It’s about public order and mannerism. May Allah guide us all to his pleasure and give us the courage to revert back to the truth and what is righteous. Amin.”
But, Zakzaky fired back through the Shi’ite’s Head of Media, Ibrahim Usman (who was killed last Sunday). In the reply, Gumi was accused of writing with insidious intent to pave the way for a greater onslaught on Zakzaky and members of his sect.
The late spokesman quoted Zakzaky as saying: “Dr. Gumi has lost credibility among the Muslim fold, as he constantly sells Israel above the Muslims Ummah, describing Jews as the most religious and intelligent race over the Muslims. Because of his lost credibility, he envies the ever-increasing flow of Shi’ites and Shi’a awareness in Nigeria, while at the same time trying to establish his Wahabbi and Takfir brand of Islam in Nigeria.
“I am not surprised with the content of an open letter written by Dr. Gumi at this particular time (forget the sinister “My Brother” tone and the crocodile tears of condolence). The choice of the time to write the letter gave Dr. Gumi a way, he was all out to attack me and the Arba’een symbolic trek currently taking place across the country. I am used to his constant attacks on me and Shi’a.
“This is not the first time Dr. Gumi is complaining that members of the Islamic Movement led by Sheikh Zakzaky are blocking public roads in the name of procession. In 2009, Gumi registered the same complaint during his Tafsir in Sultan Bello Mosque. He went ahead dangerously to call on the government to shoot those he called ‘Shi’ites’ blocking public roads.
“According to Dr. Gumi, Allah has given the government the ‘license to shoot them’. And the government heeded the call. A week after, armed and combined security operatives shot two people during the Quds Day procession in Zaria. The series of machinations by the government against the Islamic Movement in Nigeria had always been with the tacit support of Dr. Gumi and his adherents.
“We believe that the letter was written with insidious intent to pave way for a greater onslaught on the Islamic Movement and Sheikh Zakzaky. It was also meant to incite Muslims against those he referred to as ‘Shi’tes’. The world arrogant powers, U.S. and Israel, are now all out to assassinate Sheikh Zakzaky and unleash terrorist attacks on all public gatherings of the Movement, especially the Arba’een symbolic trek.
“This is exactly what Dr. Gumi is doing through the letter. He is doing their dirty work. For Dr. Gumi who has lost credibility even among his circle to claim that, the Shi’ites are chanting ‘hate songs’, is the pot calling the kettle black. In most of his Talk Shows that he calls Tafsir, he spends substantial part of his time unleashing venoms on Shi’a and Sheikh Zakzaky, while his uninformed and unruly listeners pollutes the air with war cry.
“For the information of Dr. Gumi, the Shi’ites are embarking on a mass trek to Zaria, as a symbolic gesture to the one in Karbala, Iraq to commemorate the fortieth day after the martyrdom of Imam Husain (AS). The trek is to recall the trials and tribulations faced by the Household of the Holy Prophet, chained and dragged in the scorching desert from Karbala in Iraq, to Damascus in Syria, after the brutal killing of Imam Husain by the army of despotic Yazid.
“This is our faith, our creed; it is our legs and bodies we use for the trek. Why is Dr. Gumi so much worried like the CIA and MOSSAD? I have not even for once heard Dr. Gumi complaining of road blockade during political rallies and other mob activities, but activities of the Shi’ites worried the Dr. Gumi so much that he billows.
“He questioned our rights to embark on a procession or trek, we have every right as citizens to demonstrate for or against, propagate and practice our creed. Let Dr. Gumi rejoice over the killing of Husain, grandson of the Holy Prophet, son of Fatimah and Ali, as he always does.
“As we mourn and beat our chests, we say: ‘O self, you are worthless after Hussein. My life and death are one and the same, so be it if they call me insane! As for the trek, which detests so much, we proclaim as we march forward: If they sever our legs and hands, we shall crawl to the Husain!’” El-Zakzaky said in his reaction.
Despite Gumi’s admonition, the sect’s activities continued until the latest round of confrontation with the military on Saturday, leading to the killing of its members, including one of Zakzaky’ son, his second-in-command and one of his wives, before his eventual arrest by military authorities on Sunday.
Not a few residents of Zaria saw Zakzaky’s arrest as a relief from the group’s excesses. The military confirmed the residents’ mood in a video clip of residents’ jubilation it played at a news conference in Kaduna yesterday.
