Some residents of Zaria, Kaduna State, and neighbours of the leader of the Shi’ite sect, Sheik Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, yesterday launched a campaign to get the group banned.
Citing alleged hardship caused them by members of the sect over the last 20 years, the Zaria residents said they have had enough.
Picture of bleeding sheikh Zakzaky. Source: @ZahradeenAAhmad
Their spokesperson, Alhaji Idris Mohammed Baba, told reporters in Kaduna that Shi’ite members routinely hold people in Zaria and Sabon Gari local government areas of the state hostage and tend to run a parallel government in the country.
They claimed that last May, the sect declared 24 youths persona non grata for challenging their activities in Gyellesu community where Zakzaky resides.
According to him, “My experience with Shiite followers is disastrous and terrible. At a point Shi’ite boys threatened to kill me. We are happy over the military action against Shi’ites movement in Zaria because we have fresh air now blowing in our areas.”
He added, “As a community, we wrote letters to the government about the activities of Shi’ites but no single action was taken. We no longer report Shi’ites to police because they will never honour police or security invitation.
“These Shi’ites are an authority unto themselves; they don’t respect the authorities, the security agencies and so on.
“We are Muslims but we discovered that Shi’ites activities are contrary to Islam. They carry dangerous weapons and openly molest innocent people in our areas. Human rights groups should also look into our pains by the sect members.”
Also speaking, another resident, Alhaji Saidu Garba, said the activities of the sect have crippled the once booming economy of the area.
He said: “After El-Zakzaky was released from detention in 1999,he came and settled in Gyallesu. Since then there is no peace in our area. We thank Allah for touching the heart of government and the military for liberating us from Shi’ites untold hardship.”
The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, and Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA, have urged the Nigerian government to investigate the killing of several members of the Shi’ia sect during a clash with the Nigerian Army in Zaria, Kaduna State.
Ayo oritsejafor
The army had on Saturday clashed with the group. The exact number of those killed is yet to be ascertained.
CAN and NSCIA are the highest decision-making bodies of the two major religions in Nigeria, and serve as the umbrella bodies of all Christian and Muslim groups respectively.
While CAN urged President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene and probe the killings “to avoid the escalation of the crisis”, NSCIA set up a seven-man contact committee to meet with all parties “in the interest of peace and security in Nigeria”.
A statement by the national secretary of CAN, Musa Asake, said although the body would not pre-empt any action to be taken by the government and the Nigerian Army, it would sue for peace between the two contending parties.
CAN demanded the setting up of a judicial panel of inquiry to establish the cause of the crisis and prevent a reoccurrence.
It drew the president’s “attention to the fact that similar circumstances as this led to the escalation of belligerence from the Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihād, also known as Boko Haram”.
While urging that no harm should be done to the spiritual leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, CAN said the establishment of the panel would help forestall fresh insurgent activities in the country.
The association said it “observed, with much sadness, the altercation between the Nigerian Army and Muslim faithful of the Shia Islamic movement, which led to loss of lives of many members of the Shiite”.
“Our faith is bed-rocked on love. We do not only love ourselves, but we also love our neighbours and Shiite Muslims are our neighbours,” the Christian body said.
The Christian body however condemned reports by an Iranian Network, Press TV, which reportedly claimed that CAN had colluded with Boko Haram and the Nigerian Army to perpetrate the killings of Shi’ia Muslims.
“This is a most unfortunate accusation especially given the fact that CAN has consistently sympathized with the Shias over previous clashes with the authorities,” the association said.
“We urge the Iranian backed Press TV to be mindful of its reportage in order not to stoke religious tensions in Nigeria. We work on the assumption that that is not their intention.”
The association also called “on all lovers of God, be they Christian or Muslims, whether Sunni or Shia, to keep the peace and await judicious action from constituted authority”.
On its part, the Muslim body, NSCIA, set up a seven-man committee to meet with all parties involved in Saturday’s clash.
The decision to set up the committee was taken at an expanded general purpose committee meeting comprising notable Muslims and heads of all Islamic organizations in Nigeria.
The meeting held on Wednesday at the National Mosque in Abuja.
The Secretary General of the NSCIA, Is-haq Oloyede, who spoke with reporters at the end of the meeting, said Muslim leaders decided to come together “to express their concern about what is happening in Zaria and call for restraint on the part of all stakeholders in the interest of peace and security of Nigeria”.
He said NSCIA had also decided to call on the Nigerian government to set up a judicial commission of inquiry to probe the incident.
“Council also decided to set up a seven-man contact committee to meet with all parties and call for caution that we should await the report of the commission of inquiry,” he said.
The group’s scribe said, Daud Naibi would serve as the chairman of the committee, while Muzammil Hanga, Abubakar Tsav, Ibrahim Suleiman, Yusuf Ali, Abubakar Siddique and Is-haq Oloyede would serve as members.
Mr. Oloyede, a professor, said the judicial panel inquiry that should be set up by the government should include all relevant persons and organisations, including the NSCIA.
“If possible members of the group concerned should also be represented on the commission so that whatever comes out would be something that is credible and would be seen as impartial,” he said.
Mr. Oloyede said another decision taken at the meeting was a call to all Muslims in Nigeria to take advantage of the next Jumaat prayer on Friday “to offer special prayers for this country”.
He said with adequate prayers, God would aid the return of peace to the country.
Mr. Oloyede also called on the government and citizens to always adhere to the laws of the land.
“We continue to call for caution from all parties including the aggrieved and we call on the government and the citizens of this country that the best way to solving any grievances or infractions is through the rule of law.
“We should always seek the law as a solution to any of the problems we have, rather than self-help either on the part of the government or the citizenry,” he said.
The meeting was chaired by the supreme leader of the NSCIA, the Sultan of Sokoto, Saad Abubakar, and was attended by several Muslim leaders across the country.
The two chambers of the National Assembly – the Senate and the House of Representatives – have mandated their committees to investigate the deadly clash between the Shi’ia Islamic sect and the Nigerian Army, which left scores of the sect’s members dead in Zaria at the weekend.
Senate
The Senate took the decision to investigate the incident after lawmakers met behind closed doors for more than an hour on Wednesday.
After the session, the president of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, said it had become expedient to investigate the incident and find a solution to forestall an escalation.
“The Senate, in a closed session, exhaustively discussed the incident involving the Nigerian Army and the Islamic Movement Group known as the Shi’ites Group and all subsequent events.
“Accordingly, the Senate has unanimously resolved to investigate the incident and an ad hoc committee has been mandated to investigate.
“The ad hoc committee will comprise the chairmen and vice chairmen of the Senate Committees on Defence; Intelligence and National Security; Judiciary and Human Rights; Army; Police Affairs; Internal Affairs; and Foreign Affairs.
“The ad hoc committee is to be headed by the chairman of the Senate Committee on Defence, Ahmed Lawan (APC Yobe North),” Mr. Saraki said.
He gave the committee four weeks to report to the Senate.
While briefing journalists after the plenary, the spokesman of the Senate, Aliyu Sabi (APC-Niger North), urged all parties involved in the clash to remain calm.
“The Senate deeply and sincerely regret the loss of lives and property by all affected parties and the general public.
“The Senate is seriously concerned and committed to ensuring that peace reigns in our dear country and will act in accordance with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria at all times,” Mr. Sabi added.
Also, the House of Representatives, on Wednesday, said it had ordered its “two relevant Standing Committees” to meet with the top officers of the country’s security agencies in order to unearth the root cause of the last Saturday’s clash with a view to finding lasting solutions.
A statement by the chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Abdulrazak Namdas, said Speaker Yakubu Dogara urged the committees to do a “thorough job considering the sensitive nature of the matter and the present security situation in the country”.
“He urged Nigerians to be calm and peaceful, and stressed that the House of Representatives will always be alive to its responsibilities,” Mr. Namdas added.
The statement quoted Mr. Dogara as saying that Nigerians would be fully informed in due course when the House committees assigned to probe the matter conclude their assignment and report back to the House.
On Saturday, Nigerian soldiers clashed with members of the Shi’ia group in Zaria, leading to several deaths.
The Nigerian Army in a statement issued by its spokesman, Sani Usman, alleged that the group, led by Ibrahim Zakzaky, had attempted to assassinate the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai.
Kaduna State Governor Nasiru el-Rufai has said security forces in the state detected the presence of the suicide bombers, who killed about 40 people in Zaria, through their tracking system.
El-Rufai
An explosion believed to be carried out by a female suicide bomber in the Sabon Gari Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Tuesday disrupted the verification exercise of teachers leaving about 40 people dead and many injured.
According to el-Rufai, the telephones of the bombers, believed to be Boko Haram members, which were used in tracking them were switched off in Zaria, making it impossible for the security forces to locate them.
el-Rufai made the disclosure while delivering a talk at the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme Booth Camp held at the Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State on Saturday.
He explained that the explosion occurred seven hours after the bombers switched off their telephone devices.
He said, “We knew that the forces were coming to Kaduna State with a bomb and we were tracking them. They got to Zaria and switched off their sets and they could not be tracked any longer.”
He reiterated the role of the government in ensuring the security of lives and properties of the citizens, adding that the government should guarantee the rule of law and an enabling environment for entrepreneurs.
To provide sufficient protection for Nigerians, el-Rufai said the country needed twice the size of its current police force.
He said, “We need twice the Police Force we currently have for effective protection. This is one of the things we need to provide and I can assure you that President Muhammadu Buhari is working on it.”
Nigerian soldiers have arrested the mastermind of the Jos and Zaria suicide bombing, Defence Headquarter has said.
The HQ disclosed this on its twitter handle on Wednesday.
The tweet read: “Troops have arrested a mastermind of the Jos & Zaria bombing at a checkpoint in Gombe following an operation by combined team of military & DSS operatives. More details”.
On July 6, the secretariat of Sabon Gari Local Government, Zaria, Kaduna State was bombed leaving 25 people dead and 32 others injured. And 24 hours earlier, a twin bomb attack Jos killing 44 people and injured 47 others.
The first bomb went off at a restaurant in Jos opposite Bauchi campus of the University of Jos, while the second one went off at mosque near Yan tyre market area about 15 minutes after.
The Anglican Bishop of Wusasa Diocese in Zaria, Kaduna State, Rt. Rev. Ali Buba-Lamido, on Saturday advocated death penalty for corrupt public office holders.
He made the call at the Sixth Synod of the Wusasa Diocese of the Anglican Communion, held in Zaria, Kaduna State.
According to him, the death penalty option is the only way to put public officers in Nigeria in check.
Buba-Lamido said the call became imperative in view of the fact that corruption could kill more people than a conventional weapon.
“If our leaders know that they would be prosecuted if found corrupt they would be on their toes to avoid corrupt practices.”
He appealed to politicians to do everything possible to fulfil their campaign promises with a view to bringing succour to the electorate.
The bishop described the level of unemployment in Nigeria as alarming, appealing to the new administration to adopt proactive measures to tackle the problem.
Expressing confidence in the ability of the administration, the cleric said he had no doubt that President Muhammdu Buhari would deliver.
On the security situation in the country, the bishop said it was bad for a country like Nigeria to have lost up to 11,000 people to Bako Haram.
“However, I am satisfied with the approach taken by the new administration to tackle the menace of Boko Haram,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the synod featured presentation of awards to distinguished Nigerians, comprising Muslims, Christians, politicians and non-politicians.
The awardees include the Emir of Zazzau, Dr Shehu Idris, a former Head of state, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, former Governor of Kaduna State, Sen. Ahmed Makarfi, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma and Rep. Abbas Tajuddeen.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kaduna State says it will focus on house-to-house campaign to reclaim Zaria federal constituency seat in the House of Representatives.
The party’s secretary in Kaduna State, Alhaji Kabiru Balla, told newsmen shortly after inaugurating the campaign team for Alhaji Umar Ibrahim-Rabagardama, the party’s candidate for the seat.
“It is now time to step-up effort for house-to-house campaign to enable us get more genuine supporters to win various positions in the area come 2015,” he said.
The secretary charged the newly inaugurated team to evolve sensitisation programmes that would make people at various levels to vote for the party.
Meanwhile, Ibrahim-Rabagardama, the PDP House of Representatives candidate, has promised to carry all the people along if elected as their representative.
“My victory will not be for me alone but for all of us in PDP; therefore, your collective support is required to take the party to greater heights.
“I will make sure that I work towards actualising the dreams of the people of Zaria Local Government Area,” he said.
Ibrahim-Rabagardama called on the campaign team to swing into action with a view to bringing people together before the actual campaign start in earnest.
NAN reports that a 23-member committee was constituted with the mandate to ensure the party’s victory in the general elections.
KADUNA has recorded its first suspected case of the Ebola Virus Disease with 19 years old student from Zaria being put under monitor at the isolation centre at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria.
Ebola
The suspect, an undergraduate of the Ahmadu Bello University, has been said to be exhibiting symptoms of the deadly EVD.
Kaduna State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Thot Dogo, confirmed this to one our correspondents in Kaduna on Tuesday.
Dogo said the authorities of the ABU Teaching Hospital alerted his ministry when they suspected that the man started showing some symptoms of Ebola. He said the suspect had high fever and rashes on his body after being admitted in the hospital for over a week.
“The man has fever and there are rashes all over his body. These are symptoms consistent with the Ebola disease. The blood sample of the patient has been taken to a laboratory in Lagos for tests and we expect the result of the test today (Tuesday),” the commissioner said.
He added that the outcome of the laboratory result would determine further actions, saying the state government had provided the management of ABUTH with protective equipment for its team of medical personnel attending to the patient.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation on Tuesday said the dreaded EVD in Nigeria could be contained while the Rivers State government said it had covered about 96 per cent of the high risk cases that had primary contacts with the late Dr. Iyke Enemou, who died on August 22, 2014 after contacting the Ebola virus.
WHO’s Country Director in Nigeria, Mr. Rui Vaz, also promised to give technical support to the Rivers State government to ensure that the disease was controlled.
Vaz, who spoke when he led a delegation of the organisation on a visit to the State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Sampson Parker, said early diagnosis was crucial to the control of Ebola.
Describing the global health organisation as a technical agency rather than a financial organisation, Vaz commended the commitment of the state towards tackling the disease.
He said, “I will like to highlight that Ebola can be contained and we are going to contain it, there is no doubt. But everything depends on all of us. It is not only the responsibility of the Ministry of Health. This is a cross-cutting issue; it requires attention, and the critical matter is the leadership and ownership of the process.
“WHO is in the country to provide technical support. We are a technical agency; we are not a financial agency. It is very important to highlight that there is a strong commitment by the governor and the commissioner, and also other entities. I see also the high involvement in the response of the private sector.
“The most important thing in Ebola control is the early diagnosis of any potential suspected cases and takes necessary precautions, in terms of isolation where it is needed, and other measures to stop the chain of infection.”
Vaz pointed out that WHO had deployed its officials in Rivers to establish an Emergency Operation Centre immediately it learnt of the first case of Ebola in the state.
He said, “Rivers State is an important economic front in this country; that requires some particular attention. WHO as a technical agency, since the information of the first case, we deployed immediately, our colleagues from Lagos and they came here and first, they helped to establish the emergency operation centre (EOC) and it is already done.
Parker had earlier told journalists during a briefing that the state government had succeed to a considerable extent in tracing those that had primary contact with the late Enemuo, who died at the Good Heart Hospital in Port Harcourt.
“As at Sunday, contact tracing was going on. But on Monday, we had a report that almost all of them have been contacted. We now have 96 per cent coverage, which is huge and which is a good success.
“By now, as we are talking, they would have finished everything. So, we are on it and almost all of them have been contacted,” the health commissioner added.
He, however, pointed accusing finger at the parastatals that managed the nation’s airports for the lapses that paved the way for the diplomat, Olu-Ibukun Koye, to sneak into Rivers State through the Port Harcourt International Airport.
He said, “If you remember when this thing started, we were a bit worried about our point of entry. You know the airports are managed by parastatals of the Federal Government.
“We had issues with them (parastatals), but with the partnership of the World Health Organisation and the team here, some of the materials we needed, the thermoscans, are available and they are training persons to take over. They are bringing experts in to train those ones on how to organise the points of entry.
“Ebola response is not just a government thing; it is not the Ministry of Health, it is all stakeholders. That is why we have what we call the stakeholders committee in Rivers State; the organised private sector is involved; private hospitals are involved and the government sector is there.”
Amid the tension created by terror attacks in some parts of the North, members of the Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky-led Islamist Movement of Nigeria, the Shiites, yesterday, clashed with soldiers in Zaria, Kaduna State. 35 persons were feared dead in the incident.
The incident happened barely three days after twin bomb attacks in Kaduna metropolis, Kaduna State, targetted a former head of state, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), and another Sheikh.
The Shiites were on a procession to celebrate what they called Quds day, as well as demonstrating against military operations against Palestinians in Gaza by Israeli forces.
Eyewitnesses said there was shooting between soldiers and members of the Shiites from late Friday afternoon when the protest started till the early hours of yesterday, resulting in the arrest and killing of the Islamist sect members.
Sources said, out of the 35 persons killed, three of them were the sons of El-Zakzaky, adding that many of the sect members arrested by the soldiers were still in a military detention camp.
At press time, the situation around the PZ, Sabon Gari area of Zaria was tense, just as more soldiers were said to have been deployed in the area to curtail more trouble.
Trouble started, according to Sunday Vanguard sources, when the sect members, on approaching a military check- point, were ordered by the soldiers there to take another route in view of the insecurity challenge in Kaduna State. It was said that the Shiite group rebuffed the order and, in the process, a standoff ensued between the protesters and the soldiers.
This development, according to eyewitnesses, resulted in soldiers firing warning shots into the air to scare the protesters. The Shiites were said have defied the shots and surged forward while throwing stones at the soldiers.
However, addressing journalists, yesterday, on the incident, El-Zakzaky said, “I am appealing to my followers to be patient and remain calm. After the burial of those killed, we will decide what action to take. I have communicated with the authorities, and they are all claiming not to be aware of the operation. It is my belief that the operation was ordered from Abuja”.
Kaduna State police spokesperson, SP Aminu Lawan, said on phone that the incident had not to do with the police, saying, “I advise you to reach the Nigerian Army if you can.”
Meanwhile, the army said, yesterday, it was investigating the incident.
The Director of Army Public Relations, Brig. –Gen. Olajide Laleye, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) by telephone that the investigation would establish what happened.
“However, what is already clear is that Nigerian Army troops did not initiate firing and only acted in self-defence after being fired upon,” Laleye said.
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/07/35-feared-killed-shiites-members-soldiers-clash-zaria/#sthash.NJrHerOw.dpuf
Abuja – President Goodluck Jonathan has re-appointed Dr Aminu Yusuf as the substantive Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT), Zaria, Kaduna State, for a second term of four years.
A statement by Mr Paul Mshelizah, the Chief Public Relations Officer of the institute, said that the reappointment would take effect from March 19, when the first term would expire.
The statement said the renewal of the tenure was contained in a letter by the Minister of Transport, Sen. Idris Umar, and signed by the Permanent Secretary, Mr Nebolisa Emodi.
Aminu was first appointed as the Director-General and Chief Executive of NITT on March 19, 2010.
He had within the first tenure contributed to the development of not only the institute but the transport industry in general, the statement said.
Some of his achievements included stabilisation of NITT long term programmes by affiliating the Post Graduate Programmes of the institute to Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria.
The statement added that the appointee had expanded activities and programmes of the institute to enable it to achieve its full mandate.
Aminu had also created additional departments and increased the institute’s partnership and collaboration with local and international organisations.
