The secretary, Media forum of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), Mr. Abdulmumin Giwa, today, December 16, claimed that the Nigerian soldiers killed thousands of its members during the recent clash between the movement and the Nigerian military.
Mr. Giwa made this declaration at a press briefing in Abuja to shed more light on what has been described in many quarters as a gross violation of human rights by the Nigerian military.
The secretary of the forum for the Islamic movement said there was no threat posed to the life of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt Gen Tukur Yusuf Buratai by its members as being alleged by the Nigerian army.
Recounting what transpired on the day of the killings, Mr Giwa said the COAS had already passed only for soldiers to appear few minutes later with arms and artillery.
“On that same day there was to be a Passing out Parade (POP) at Zaria for recruits or so. And the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) was coming from the palace of the Emir to that place. There were other routes he could have taken but for one reason or the other they decided to follow that route despite the fact that an event was going to take place that will attract a lot of people.
“What usually happened is that there are people who actually help in managing traffic, preparing parking spaces for people and arranging people in queues to be searched before they enter for security purposes and things like that. That is what the movement is aware of. To say that the COAS was stopped in that area despite the military presence……everyone should be surprised that he was blocked.
“Somehow he passed and went to the event he was going for. But not up to an hour later the military started coming with their arms and artillery to the point stationing themselves around. You know some of them were even questioned as to what is there and what is happening. They said they are having a POP and they have to ensure security around. So when they took positions and did everything they just started opening fire and at that point in time there were people who had arrived for the event. A lot of people were killed and in fact in that Husainiyya center if I say not less than 300 hundred people are killed it is not an exaggeration,” Giwa said.
He also spoke on how the military went about killing members of the movement in other parts of the town especially in Gelesu, the house of the leader of the movement and Darur Rahma, where the movement bury their loved ones.
He accused the military of mutilating the bodies of those killed and also instigating mobs to steal from them.
“There are three incidents here, first is the passage of the COAS and secondly the subsequent attack on the Husainiyya by soldiers and then thirdly the attack on the house of the leader of the movement at Gelesu.
“The people are loyalists. So they came there to protect their leader and prevent him from been killed as his life has always been in danger. They were standing there harmlessly while the military was there with its guns and artillery. They shot at people sporadically for up to 27 hours. And in that place (Gelesu) the number of people that were killed is four times the number of people that was killed at Husainiyya center.
“There were check points mounted on the road to protect the leader of the movement and when the army got there they started shooting. Many people were killed. You need to see how bloody the place was. Bodies were mutilated and they even instigated mobs to start stealing things from the corpses. They gathered the dead bodies together. There are videos.
“And apart from that of Gelesu there is still the burial ground, Darur Rahman along Zaria-Jos road where members of the movement used to bury their people. Some people at the place where also attacked and dispersed from that place. People were also killed there and the killings continued for 27 hours,” the secretary to the media forum of the movement said.
Mr. Giwa said attempts were made to get to the hierarchy of security agencies and the state government to come to their aid but all were futile.
“Attempts were made to call on the security and other leaders in the country and state to stop the killings and shootings and nothing was done and many lives were lost –women, children ……innocent children. It is such that every member of the movement have someone that has been killed. Even the spokesperson of the movement, Ibrahim Usman who is a journalist like you was shot in cold blood.
“Many people were killed and there are pictures. The military took a lot of dead bodies to unknown locations. We call on the government, we call on those concerned to look into the situation. There are also suspicions that there are massive graves being created around.”
Earlier in his statement, Mr Giwa noted that prior to the killings that happened on Sunday, December 13,‘there had been attacks on the members of the movement where 35 people were killed in cold blood including the three sons of the leader, Shiek Ibrahim Alzak-zaky.’
He continued: “Nothing took place apart from the condolences and the leader of the movement called for calm insisting that he would follow due process in addressing the issue.
“Up till now nothing has been done on that so people were a bit careful and resentful at the military stationed outside the event venue and this created a kind of tension.”
Meanwhile, the Boko Haram members today, killed a Lieutenant-Colonel and other officers during a fierce battle with the Nigerian army. Reports has it that the terrorist group attacked the convoy at a town along Bama/Konduga axis.
