ABUJA (Sundiata Post) – The Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the alleged killing of nearly 1,000 civilians in the clash between Nigerian Army and Shiites Islamic sect last December in Zaria, Kaduna State.
IHRC in a statement released on its website (athttp://ihrc.org.uk/) on Moday, has submitted a document signed by its chair, Massoud Shadjareh, urging the international tribunal which has a mandate to prosecute people for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, to open a preliminary enquiry into the events in Zaria last year in which soldiers attacked the Islamic Movement of Nigeria’s (IMN) supporters, symbols and property.
Shadjareh said: “The scale and brutality of this massacre and unwillingess of the Nigerian government to implement due process makes it essential for the international court to investigate. The faiure of the international community to act against atrocities on this scale stands to have grave consequences.”
The group claimed that the assault over two days in the northern Nigerian city left a trail of bloodshed and destruction including the shooting of the movement’s leader, Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenat. Both are currently believed to be in military custody, detained without charge.
In the document submitted to the ICC on Monday, IHRC writes: “The crimes committed between the 12th and 14th December 2015 in Zaria, Kaduna State, by the Nigerian Army amount to crimes against humanity. The crimes committed by the Nigerian army meet all the necessary legal requirements to warrant a preliminary investigation by the ICC prosecutor.”
The IHRC claimed that the information obtained by it indicates that 217 people were confirmed killed in the attacks, another 219 are in detention, while 482 are still missing.
According to the group, the number of injured is believed to run into many hundreds, stating that its filing to the ICC is largely based on eye-witness evidence of the army’s assault.
Parts of the statement read: “The majority of deaths were caused by gunshots fired by soldiers. Cases of people being burnt alive have also emerged. Injuries caused by machetes or other knife wounds have also been found on the corpses, and could be the work of the criminal groups that perpetrated acts of looting and mutilation alongside the military. Signs of torture and electrocution have been evidenced on the body of the IMN leader Sheikh Zakzaky and other detainees, two of whom died as a result thereof.
Sexual violence has also been reported, “including cases of rape against women affiliates of the IMN. A 14-year old female witness told IHRC that the military shot her in her private parts when she resisted attempts by soldiers to rape her. Some women reportedly had their breasts cut off and others were deliberately shot in the pelvic region damaging their uteri.
“Photographic evidence has been obtained along with testimonies of mass graves where the army is reported to have buried fatalities from the killing spree. Some corpses were allegedly incinerated, apparently in order to conceal any evidence.”
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In its submission IHRC said that the evidence suggests that the army’s assault was a systematic and pre-planned attempt to snuff out the IMN whose growing popularity has made it a thorn in the flesh of Nigerian governments.
The group reminded that a similar army assault in July 2014 during a religious procession led to the deaths of 34 IMN members including three sons of Sheikh Zakzaky who were apparently singled out for execution.
“Eyewitnesses have reported that during December’s violence soldiers were seen celebrating and chanting slogans against the IMN, such as ‘we have finished with the Shia and Zakzaky’ and ‘no more Shias in Nigeria’. Although the IMN has support among Nigeria’s Sunnis and Shias it is often portrayed by its detractors as a Shia organisation,” the IHRC clarified.
The Islamic human rights group further claimed that during the violence soldiers used automatic weapons, explosives and armoured vehicles against unarmed civilians.
This, IHRC stated, along with the destruction of places of worship, graves and other buildings associated with the IMN, appears to support the contention that the attack was aimed at fatally damaging or eliminating the IMN.
However, the Nigerian Army has maintained their official stand not to respond further to the issue until the judicial panel of enquiry established by the Kaduna State Government completes it’s job.
The Director of Army Public Relations (DAPR), Col. Sani Usman, noted that it would be pre-judicial to comment on a matter that is already before the Commission Inquiry, which they are bound to present their case.
Although the state government in Kaduna has set up a Judicial Commission of Inquiry, IHRC has expressed reservations about it, saying it “is insufficiently independent and impartial to be able to hold those responsible to account, nor is there any reasonable prospect of any prosecutions”.
The group noted that the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai in his speech announcing the inquiry, listed a range of grievances against the IMN, which is indicative of bias against the IMN from the start.
“He was also responsible for demolishing IMN properties before setting up the commission of inquiry,” the IHRC submitted.