Nigeria Shi’ites take military to ICC for alleged genocide
Pakistani Shiite Muslims carry a banner condemning Ibrahim Zakzaky, a Nigerian Shiite radical who wants to set up an Islamic Republic, at a protest against the killing of Shiite Muslims in Pakistan and Nigeria, in Lahore on December 18, 2015. Nigeria’s embattled Shi’ite Muslims, the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, has dragged the military to the International Criminal Court alleging genocide. PHOTO | AFP
What you need to know:
- The IMN has a bone to pick with the army following a bloody clash last year in Kaduna state where hundreds of its members got killed.
- The clash occurred between December 12 and 14 in Zaria, Kaduna State, leading to many deaths and destruction of Shi’ite mosques.
ABUJA, Tuesday
The umbrella body of Nigeria’s embattled Shi’ite Muslims, the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), has dragged the military to the International Criminal Court (ICC) alleging genocide.
The IMN has a bone to pick with the army following a bloody clash last year in Kaduna state where hundreds of its members got killed.
The clash occurred between December 12 and 14 in Zaria, Kaduna State, leading to many deaths and destruction of Shi’ite mosques.
According to the military, the mayhem was ignited when on a major highway, the convoy of Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Tukur Buratai, was was blocked by Shi’ite demonstrators.
The army alleges the Shi’ites wanted to assassinate the general, a claim they deny.
IMN spokesman Ibrahim Musa said today in Kaduna that they had filed their case through the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) based in London.
PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION
“The crimes committed between December 12th and 14th, 2015 in Zaria, Kaduna State, by the Nigerian army amount to crimes against humanity, the IHRC writes.
“The crimes committed....meet all the necessary legal requirements to warrant a preliminary investigation by the ICC prosecutor.”
Meanwhile, the refusal by the Shi’ites to testify before a judicial commission of inquiry on the December killings has caused the commission to issue an ultimatum for the sect to present its case.
The commission’s warning that the Shiite Muslims must submit a memorandum latest March 21 was not respected. The sect had refused to testify because of the continued detention of its leader, Sheikh Ibrahim el-Zakzaky.
Sect members are irked that they have been denied access to their leader since December 12 when he was arrested along with his wife.
A Tuesday statement signed by the commission’s secretary, Mr Bala Babj, said that the hearing had again been adjourned to enable the Shi’ites present their case.
