Nigerian Army Guilty of Killing 349 Shias, Soldiers to be Arrested: Judicial Commission

An official judicial inquiry has concluded that Nigerian troops should be prosecuted for the last years’ killing of 349 Shias in the northern city of Zaria, media reported.

The report of the inquiry, which was carried out by the Kaduna State Judicial Commission of Inquiry, was released on Sunday, July 31 and it found that 349 members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) were killed at the hands of Nigerian Army to have used excessive force.

A Nigerian army spokesman said the report was being studied.

The commission has recommended steps to identify and arrest the soldiers.

The IMN boycotted the commission of inquiry because it said it was denied access to Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky, its leader who is still being held by police.

One military source told me the “army intended to teach the Shia a lesson” after members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria stopped the convoy of the army’s chief of staff in Zaria last December.

The report said 349 people, including one soldier, were killed in the clashes and property worth thousands of dollars destroyed.

“Out of the said 349 dead persons, 347 (excluding the soldier) were buried in a mass grave,” said the report.

The commission said it had received 3,578 memoranda – 132 letters and 3,446 emails – along with 39 exhibits and 87 witnesses testimonies in the course of the inquiry and the writing of the 193-page report, according to Reuters news agency.

The IMN said the military had destroyed its religious shrine and the home of Sheikh Zakzaky during the raid.