Inquiry says ‘Army killed 347 Shia followers of Zakzaky’ and dumped in amass grave in Nigeria

Nigeria: According to a special investigation by a state government in northern Nigeria. A public inquiry accused the Nigerian army of killing 347 Shia Muslims and dumping them in a mass grave in the northern city of Kaduna during a December clash.

The violence began between December 12th and 14th 2015, when Shia worshippers attending a religious ceremony, hundreds of people were killed in Zaria following clashes between the Nigerian Army and the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN).

In response to the clashes, the Governor of Kaduna State established the Commission of Inquiry to determine the immediate causes of the clashes and said those responsible for the killings should be prosecuted, confirming the conclusions of an earlier Amnesty International report.

It said. “The Commission therefore recommends that steps should immediately be taken to identify the members of the NA (Nigerian Army) who participated in the killings … with a view to prosecuting them.”

Amnesty International accused the army of deliberately shooting dead the Shia followers of pro-Iranian cleric Ibrahim Zakzaky, burying them in mass graves and destroying evidence of the crime.

Mausi Segun, Nigeria researcher at Human Rights Watch said. “Political and military authorities in Nigeria should heed the Commission’s recommendations and take immediate steps to hold those responsible for the illegal use of lethal force to account and to pay compensation to the victims.”
“The authorities should release El Zakzaky and [his wife] Zeenat from detention, or bring credible charges against the couple in a properly constituted court.”