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Calling off the DHQ’s Response

By Ibrahim Usman
The Nigerian Defence Headquarters (DHQ), in four sentences on its Twitter handle, responded to the statement of His Eminence Sheikh Ibraheem Yaqoub Zakzaky over the series planned attack on him and his convoy. This is not the first time such attempts were made on Sheikh Zakzaky’s life and were exposed by the Sheikh.

 However, this is the first time the attempt was intensified, especially since after the brutal killing of 34 people in Zaria on July 25, 2014, after the Quds Day procession.

What happened on that day was not just a mere attack on peaceful protesters in order to prevent ‘breach of peace and security’, but a well-calculated plan to get to the root of the Islamic Movement and cause chaos and anarchy in Zaria and the entire state. The plan was to assassinate Leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Sheikh Zakzaky, as that would have given the soldiers license to kill as many people as possible from an anticipated public outrage. The ultimate goal was to impose a strict curfew, or even state of emergency as it is the case in the north-eastern part of this country; bomb blasts, planned insurgency would then follow.

In view of what happened in Zaria on 25th of July, for the DHQ through Brigadier Christopher Olukolade to state that, “The Nigerian Military has no plan to frame up anybody or organization”, is ridiculous. The same Nigerian Military has not, up this time, denied the fact that its men shot dead and injured many people on that fateful day. We have heard of government’s official condolence over tragedies on groups and individuals, but never on the families on the people killed in Zaria, especially Sheikh Zakzaky whose 3 children were also killed. We have every reason and evidence to believe that, the Nigerian government is complicit in the murder of innocent people in Zaria. We refused to be convinced that the Nigerian Military his not aiding murder and harboring murderers, when the mastermind of the murderous act Lt. Col. S. O. Oku is still a free and protected military officer at the Basawa Barrack in Zaria. The DHQ cannot convince us that it was not behind the extrajudicial killings when the it could not defend the secret memos by Depot HQ of Nigerian Army to the Nigerian Army HQ DIV1(signed by Brig Gen BA FIBOIUMAMA with Special SITREP No 04/14 and titled, ‘Religious Disturbance’) and that of the State Security Service (signed by the Y.A. Kure, fsi, Zamfara State SSS Director) which placed the military on red alert under false flag that the “Shi’ites” were planning vengeance attack on military formations.

We are yet to be convinced that the Nigerian Military is not encouraging murderous acts and criminality, when we constantly observe suspicious security actions targeting Sheikh Zakzaky’s convoy. We are not that foolish to accuse the whole military, but we are fully convinced that there exist a special killer squad in the Nigerian Military under orders to suppress any contending voice. On whose mandate do drones hover over residence of our revered Leader? 

Under the prevailing situation, and the above mentioned evidences, the Islamic Movement has cause to fear military onslaught, especially on its Leader. That is very possible, especially now that the Nigerian security system is infested and hijacked by foreign elements, CID and MOSSAD, with the Nigeria government as mere puppet and tool. We view the onslaught against the Islamic Movement as an extension of the global fight against the popular voice of the people

Yes, the Military has guns and can kill, but it can never kill the Truth and voice of justice. The cry for truth and justice is as old as human blood human in human veins- ever-flowing. The Islamic Movement is a mass movement that cuts across all segments of the society, and attack on it or its leadership is attacking the people and the society. The 35 years of history of this Movement had been that of peaceful agitation, and past attempt to suppress it had yielded no positive result to the aggressors. It is no longer a question of who wants Sheikh Zakzaky dead, the world will hold the Nigerian government accountable for any uncivilized action against the Leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria. While the assassination attempts last and the jigsaw puzzle is daily taking shape, the Islamic Movement can never be subdued or intimidated into silence in it is drive for truth and justice.