Hundreds of members of the Shiite Muslim sect took to the streets of Bauchi, Potiskum and Kaduna to protest the extra judicial killing of their members by men of the Nigerian Army following Saturday’s Dec 12th 2015 violent clash between the Nigerian Army and members of The Islamic movement in Nigeria.
In the clash, It was reported that over 20 people lost their lives and that Nigerian soldiers may have killed one the wives and a son of the Shiite leader, Sheikh Ibraheem El Zakzaky.
The President of the Media Forum of Islamic Movement of Nigeria released a Press Statement that reads thus;
Indiscriminate killing of members of the Islamic Movement by the Nigerian Army in Zaria
Following alleged blockade of the route of the Chief of Army Staff by the members of the Movement, the Nigerian Army brutally descended on armless members of the Movement with heavy military weapons killing indiscriminately.
In the mean time, leading members of the Islamic Movement and other members as well, have been killed by the soldiers including the leader of the Kano Center, Sheikh Muhammad Turi, Dr. Mustapha Sa’eed, Malam Ibrahim Usman..
Also killed was Sayyid Aliy, the son of the leader of the Movement, Sayyid Ibraheem Zakzaky (H) and tens of other members.
The sporadic killings took place at three different locations that include the residence of the reverred leader of the Movement at Gyallesu, the Husainiyya Bakiyatullah at the GRA and the Darur Rahma located along Zaria-Jos road where many armless people were killed.
The killing was so brutal at Gyallesu that even those injured in the shooting were identified and killed in cold blood by the soldiers. And as at the time of writing this press release, the victims run into their hundreds, if not thousands.
Considering the gross violation of fundamental human rights and extra-judicial killings perpetrated by the Nigerian Army, the Islamic Movement hereby condemns these unjustifiable acts.
We state categorically that the claim by the Army that Members of the Movement attempted of assasinate the Chief of Army Staff was a blatant lie as the army came back to launch their attack more than an hour after the COAS had passed.
Clearly, the Nigerian government through its military is now on rampage, in an all out war with the Islamic movement, its members and structures. The scale of this attack would suggest it was meticulously planned by authorities and now being executed ruthlessly. The alledged attack on COAS Burutai was just an alibi.
Therefore, with all pointers at the government as the contractor of the killings, we hereby call on well meaning Nigerians and the international community to intervene and seek redress for the victims and their family members as many innocent people have unjusifiably been killed and many others severely injured.
In the mean time there is no idea as to the where about of the leader of the Movement, Sayyid Ibraheem Zakzaky (H) nor his current condition, and agrieved members of the Movement across the country have taken to the streets in condemnatory protests.
Signed by
Ibrahim Musa
Ibrahim Musa
Mu’allim Ibrahim Al-Zakzaky was born in Zaria City on 14 Shaban 1372 A.H. (May 1953). The word Al-Zakzaky is a familiar title meaning ‘Man of Zazzau.’
The genealogy of Mu’allim Ibrahim is as follows. Mu’allim Ibrahim son of Aliyu son of Tajuddin, son of Imam Hussain. Imam Hussain originated from Mali, and came to Sokoto during the time of Mujadid Sheikh Usman bin Fodiyo, and became his student, following which the Sheikh attached Imam Hussain with the Amir and standard bearer of Islamic Jihad, whose name was Mallam Musa, in order to establish an Islamic government in the province of (Lardin) of Zazzou. When Zazzou was defeated. Mallam Musa became the Amir and Imam Hussain became his religious adviser. There were intermarriages between their families. This happened in the early part of the 19th century.
The father of Mu’allim Ibrahim died in 1972. His mother is still alive. Mu’allim Ibrahim is the fifth born of his father. At the age of fifteen, he joined Fata Provincial Arabic School, Zaria, established by the then native authority (N.A.) for primary training of Arabic teachers. Due to his exceptional talent Mu’allim Ibrahim finished in two years instead of the usual four. He then proceeded to the School of Arabic Studies (AAS) in Kano, from 1971 – 1976 and obtained the ‘Grade II’ Certificate.
Following the completion of his school studies, Mu’allim Ibrahim attended the GCE A-Level Private from where he proceeded to Ahmedu Vello University (AVU), Zaria. He studied BSc Economics and graduated with a first class degree in 1979. The degree was denied to him by the university authorities due to his Islamic activities.
On the side of his Islamic education, Mu’allim Ibrahim has furthered his studies from various local ulema (scholars) who included Mallam Sani Abdulkadir, Mallam Isa Madaka, Mallam Sani (Deputy Imam of Zaria Central Mosque) and Mallam Ibrahim Kakaki. While he was in Kano he studied at the hawza (religious seminary) of Sheikh Nasir Kapara. He is also a hafiz of Quran and until the time of his recent arrest, he has been in full time research studies in various aspects of Islam.
Presently he has spent almost 18 years in dawah, calling for a total establishment of Islam. For this reason he has encountered atrocities by every regime in Nigeria, both civilian and military during this period. He has been to various prisons across the country which include Sokoto, Enuga, Kaduna, Lagos, Abuja, Portharcurt and presently in Kaduna.
Mu’allim Ibrahim Al-Zakzaky lives in Kwarbai quarters in Zaria City. he is married to Zeenah and has six children. He is the leader of the of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, and has never advocated violence in any form, despite the violence suffered by himself and his estimated 3 million supporters.
Ibrahim Yaqoub El Zakzaky is a Shi’a Muslim cleric in Nigeria, and head of Nigeria’s Islamic Movement.
Zakzaky attended traditional Quranic and Islamic schools in the town of Zaria under the tutelage of scholars such as Malam Isa Madaka and Malam Ibrahim Kakaki. He attended the Provincial Arabic School, Zaria (1969-1970), Law School (now the School for Arabic Studies), Kano (1971-1975) and the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria (1976-1979).
He became the secretary-general of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN) in the Main Campus of ABU (1977/78) and later Vice President (International Affairs) of the National Body of the MSSN in 1979.His activity in the society saw the conception of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria which came as an independent body since early 1980s. The movement has established many schools known as Fudiyyah or Fodia schools named after Shiekh Usman dan Fodio a famous 18th-century scholar and jihadist.
The movement also publish newspapers and magazines in both English and Hausa languages.Dr Iqbal Siddiqui described El-Zakzaky as “the de facto leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria”.Zakzaky was jailed several times on charges of sedition by successive Nigerian regimes in the 1980s and 1990s.He is married with children.
According to former Iranian diplomat Adel Assadinia, the IMN was set up with the financial support of the Iranian government and is modeled on the Lebanese Hezbollah.He said that Iran provides IMN with training “in guerrilla warfare: bomb-making, use of arms such as handguns, rifles and RPGs, and the manufacturing of bombs and hand grenades.” He suggests the IMN could be used to strike Western interests in the event of conflict.
Zakzaky’s supporters say he has never advocated violence In September 2009, Zakzaky’s supporters clashed with police in Zaria, leading to injuries and deaths on both sides.The IMN accuses the government of intimidation and attempting to wipe it out.
The Resource Forum of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) held a symposium on “The Creation of the Illegal State of Israel” at Arewa House Kaduna on May 21, 2008. Zakzaky said, “when Israel is celebrating sixty years of occupying Palestine’s land, we are mourning because the truth is Israeli State is created on the basis of terrorism and what is not yours is not yours, no matter years of oppression and hostage it would slip someday along with those supporting them. Israel will fall with her allies certainly.”
Zakzaky is fluent in English, Hausa, Spanish, Arabic and Persian languages. He has lectured in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Niger, Algeria, Britain, France, Spain, the United States, Lebanon, Azerbaijan and Iran.
On Friday 25 July 2014, Nigerian Army reportedly gunned down 35 followers of Ibrahim Zakzaky including his 3 undergraduate biological sonsafter pro-Palestinian procession in Zaria. The brutal murder drew world attention and world wide sympathizers which lead the Nigerian Government to set up committee to investigate the action.
The UK based Islamic Human Rights Commission launched a thorough fact-finding mission on the killings and finally published a comprehensive report titled Zaria Massacres and the Role of the Military in October 2014, narrating the incidence, findings and recommendations. The work was co-authoured by Massoud Shadjareh and Abed Choudhury and printed in United Kingdom.
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