The Federal Government judiciary inquiry into the causes of the clash between Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakyzaky led Shi’ite sect and Army in December have recommended that the troops involved in the killing of the 348 Shi’ite members be prosecuted.
The report published on Sunday confirms claims by human rights groups such as Amnesty International that the army killed hundreds of Shi’ite Muslims during three days of clashes in the northern city of Zaria. The army has repeatedly denied this.
“The Nigerian Army used excessive force,” said the report by a commission appointed by Kaduna state, where Zaria is located.
“The Commission therefore recommends that steps should immediately be taken to identify the members of the Nigerian Army who participated in the killings of 12th – 14th December 2015 incident with a view to prosecuting them,” it said.
The army has said Shi’ites had blocked its chief of staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, and tried unsuccessfully to assassinate him.
“We are aware that the report has been made public and we are studying it,” Nigerian army spokesman Sani Usman said on Monday.
The commission’s findings contained in the report said 349 people – including one soldier – were killed. “Out of the said 349 dead persons, 347 (excluding the soldier) were buried in a mass grave,” said the report.
The commission said it had received 3,578 memoranda – 132 letters and 3,446 emails – along with 39 exhibits and 87 witnesses testimonies in the course of the inquiry and the writing of the 193-page report.
The implementation of the inquiry report will be a litmus test for President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration whether we are indeed in a changing time, to root out human rights violations by soldiers.
