After a long silence, the Nigerian Military through its Director Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade has issued a press statement on the killings and murders committed by their men in Zaria on Friday 25th July, 2014.
The release said the Nigerian Army is conducting “higher level of military enquiry with a view to unmasking the remote and immediate causes of the incident and to identify anyone found culpable”. This is a follow up to “the report of the preliminary investigation at the unit level that has vehemently contradicted some of the issues raised by the leader of the group, in his statement, especially on the allegation of extra judicial killings”.
One would have expected the Nigerian Government to constitute a high powered independent public inquiry committee to investigate the insensitive, unprovoked free killings by the Nigerian Army under the command of Lieutenant Colonel S. O. Okwu conducted on innocent and peacefully protesting people against the evil crimes the illegal Zionist state of Israel is unleashing on the people of Palestine. On your preliminary investigation which you claimed has contradicted Sheikh Zakzaky’s statement, it has been historically proven, and beyond any doubt that Sheikh Zakzaky can never tell lies. As your “higher level investigations” are going on, we maintain that “a Zaria based Islamic scholar Sheikh El- Zakzaky and his followers” did not “unlawfully engaged in an act of civil disturbance”. In Nigerian constitution, there is freedom of speech and association. We also maintain that 33 people have been killed in your action, while 67 people have been wounded; 13 more people have been taken as prisoners of war and our ambulance has been captured in the war you launched on us.
Perhaps it was miscalculated by the architects of the plan that we will lose focus and go on rampage so that the Nigeria Army could justify their evil intention to unleash total terror and onslaught on Sheikh Zakzaky and his followers in Zaria and other parts of the country.
The Islamic Movement in Nigeria is not a crowd that has no focus or direction. It is a Movement with vision and mission under a spiritual leader being guided by the teachings of Islam. Sheikh Zakzaky is focused and has remained steadfast on his call to total submission to the authority of Allah and so cannot be provoked into mob action. In fact this is what it takes to be leader. He has been tested and trusted, and possessed all leadership qualities that he is presently demonstrating, even during great moments of trail like the one he is undergoing.
So, as the Nigerian Army conducts its in-house investigations, the world is watching with keen interest to see the outcome. As for Allah, He needs no committee. He has it all documented and will deal with the perpetuators of the crime against His obedient servants for identifying with the oppressed people of Palestine.
Dr. Abdullahi Danladi
Resource Forum
Islamic Movement in Nigeria