By Chibuike Nwabuko
Abuja (Sundiata Post) – Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), otherwise called Shiites has called on the Trump-led government not to sale weapons or military hardware to Nigeria over what it described as appalling human rights record of the Nigerian military.
Shiites Movement made the call in a letter dated 17th August, 2017 signed bin a letter dated 17th August, 2017 signed b the head of the Free Zakzaky Campaign Committee, Abdulrahaman Abubakar.
The letter reads in part, “The military’s human rights record in Nigeria is utterly dismal and the Nigerian government’s commitment to the rule of law is even worse off.”
IMN drew the attention of the US government to incessant refusal of the government to acknowledge excesses of the military in handling civilian matters; but even tries to justify them.
The Movement quoted a classical example as: “The blatant murder of 34 unarmed civilians in Zaria in 2014, including the children of Sheikh Zakzaky, without the government doing anything about it.
According to the Shiites, “As if that was not grievous enough, the soldiers returned in December, 2015 with an even more brutal force, resulting in the death of over a thousand innocent citizens.
It maintained that the initial response of the government to this callous disregard for human lives was to describe it as a military affair.”
IMN pointed out that there is usually no properly conducted inquiries, no prosecutions, no remorse and no public apologies after such acts by the military. Besides shirking in its duties to hold its soldiers to account, the IMN also said the government captured its leader and his wife “after shooting them at point blank range; treated them in the most humiliating and denigrating manner before hauling them incommunicado detention without charges for 20 months.
Even after a Nigerian High Court had ruled that the detention is unconstitutional and ordered their release, the government has continued to contemptuously defy the order,” the movement said.
The letter therefore called for a complete arms embargo to be placed on the Nigerian military. It also wanted the embargo to be extended to travel bans and other embargoes for senior military and political leaders “until a genuine commitment to the principles of rule of law, justice, fair play and human rights can be demonstrated beyond rhetoric and half-hearted measures by the government.”(News Express).