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Nigeria claim against Shias rubbish: Analyst

Monday, 14 December 2015 5:21 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 14 December 2015 5:21 AM ]

Nigerian military forces are seen at a site where they opened fire on the Shia Muslims who had gathered to attend a religious ceremony in Zaria, Kaduna State, December 12, 2015.

Press TV has interviewed Raza Kazim, with the Islamic Human Rights Commission, in London, and Nii Akuetteh, the executive director of the African Immigrants Caucus, in Washington, on the Nigerian army’s recent crackdown on the Shia community in Nigeria.

Kazim says the claim by the Nigerian army and government that the followers of Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky threatened a convoy of an army general is “rubbish” and baseless, adding that the military forces surrounded a Hussainiyyah in a preplanned move to kill members of the Shia community.

“The shooting started around the Hussainiyyah and around 30 people – possibly five more than that – were killed around the Hussainiyyah, so then why did the army move towards Sheikh Zakzaky’s house, where in total the number of casualties have come to about a hundred possibly slightly more than that?” he said.

Akuetteh, for his part, argued that, according to the Nigerian people’s statements, the pro-Sheikh Zakzaky group of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria has been attacked several times, and most of the attacks have been committed by the Takfiri elements of Boko Haram.

The Nigerian military claimed the followers of Sheikh Zakzaky have tried to block an army convoy and assassinate a military general, he said, saying that the army opened fire on the members of the Shia community based on the unproven claim.

The activist also called for an investigation into the massacre of the Shia community in Nigeria.

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