Clashes between IMN and the Nigerian military have been recurring long before December 12, 2016, and even after the bloody incident of that day.
By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
On December 12, 2016, members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) were gunned down in their hundreds by a platoon of the Nigerian Army in Zaria, Kaduna State.
On that day, the IMN members who belong to the minority Islam sect of Shia blocked a major road during one of their religious festivals. This caused the convoy of the then Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai, to suffer some inconvenience. All efforts to prevail on the religious zealots to clear the road for the four-star General fell on deaf ears. The Army simply rolled out the tanks and levelled everyone within sight. At least 347 persons were murdered in that encounter, according to a panel report of the Kaduna State government. The panel also recommended the prosecution of the killer squad. The FG has ignored the report.
Clashes between IMN Muslims and the Nigerian military have been recurring long before December 12, 2016, and even after the bloody incident. After every clash, both sides would always give contradictory accounts.
Recall that in 2014, at least 33 IMN members were gunned down by soldiers in Zaria during an encounter.
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In 2015, dozens died in a suicide attack on an IMN procession walking from Kano to Zaria. Boko Haram was initially blamed for the attack, but a Shia spokesperson later claimed that the military masterminded it.
On December 12, 2016, which turns out to be the bloodiest, video footage shows stick-clutching IMN militia barricading the convoy of the Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai.
In the clip, desperate Army officers were seen negotiating with the IMN to clear the road. They rebuffed all entreaties, chanting Allah Akbar (God is great) to the frustration of the soldiers. The video ended.
What followed was apparently not captured by video. The Shia members claimed hundreds of their colleagues were killed in the road-clearing operation.
A phalanx of soldiers reportedly destroyed two Shia shrines in Zaria, killing their occupants and beating up their leader, Ibrahim Al-Zakzaky, to a stupor. He reportedly became partially blind.
Al-Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenat, were later held in detention for five years despite losing three of their children on that bloody day. A court later ordered their release.
On Twitter, Nigerians have been remembering the Zaria massacre by trending a hashtag, #ZariaMassacre. They also share pictures of those killed on that day and wondered why those behind the killing have not been brought to justice.
