Political Briefs
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AMNESTY International on Friday, April 22, accused Nigeria’s military of deliberately shooting dead more than 350 Shiite Muslims, burying them in mass graves and destroying evidence of the crime. The rights group also dismissed as baseless army claims that the protesters from the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, IMN, wanted to kill the head of the army before the clashes last December.
Amnesty’s report entitled: “Unearthing the truth: Unlawful Killings and Mass Cover-up in Zaria” comes in the wake of conflicting claims about the violence in the northern city. Amnesty said its investigations indicated the military acted unlawfully by shooting indiscriminately at unarmed protestors. “It is not clear why the army launched such a ‘military operation’ in response to a law and order situation. The Nigerian army has provided no evidence to substantiate its claim that IMN protesters attempted to assassinate the Chief of Army Staff.
“The Nigerian military burned people alive, razed buildings and dumped victims’ bodies in mass graves. Most of the evidence was meticulously destroyed”, Amnesty said, accusing soldiers of trying to cover up the carnage by limiting access to conflict sites.
“Bodies were taken away, sites were razed to the ground, the rubble removed, bloodstains washed off, and bullets and spent cartridges removed from the streets. Soldiers sealed the areas around Zakzaky’s compound, which was destroyed with a cultural centre and the site of the street protests for several days. Medical personnel at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital said the military cordoned off the area around the morgue for two days.”
But Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar, Defence spokesman, said Amnesty’s report was “unfair” as the military had not been consulted before its publication. “If they have proper evidence let them bring it out for all to see. We cannot confront law-abiding citizens. Whoever we confronted must have been a criminal and enemy of the state,” he told AFP.
There have been fears the military action against the Shiite group in Zaria could trigger another violent uprising similar to that of Boko Haram, whose insurgency has left some 20,000 dead since 2009.
— May 2, 2016 @ 01:00 GMT
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