Human rights investigates army and Shiites clash

The National Human Rights Commission
(NHRC) in Nigeria has set up a Special
Investigations Panel into the clash between
the Army and the Shiite Muslim sect in Zaria
last weekend.
This was sequel to the complaints received
from the Nigerian Army and concerned
citizens on the unfortunate incident which
led to the loss of lives and damage of
property.
Constituting the panel on Tuesday, the
Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Professor
Bem Angwe, stressed the need for all the
parties in the dispute to sheath their sword,
assuring them that the commission would
get to the root of the matter.
The military had on Saturday clashed with
some members of the Islamic Movement of
Nigeria in Zaria, Kaduna State.
A spokesman for the Islamic group, Ibrahim
Usman, said the incident occurred at the PZ
area in city when a convoy of armed
soldiers opened fire on the group while they
were hoisting their Sect’s flag to usher in
the month of Rabi’ul Awal at Husdainiyyah
Baqiyyatullah area of the city. At least three
persons were reported dead but the Shiites
claimed 500 were killed.
In a statement on Tuesday by a spokesman
for the commission, Lambert Oparah, the
Executive Secretary pointed out that the
country was operating a democracy which
demanded that institutions must act within
the ambit of the law and respect for human
rights and fundamental freedoms.
“In democracy, the rule of law is supreme
and it is important that we continue to
remind everyone about the need to respect
one another’s right” he said.
He promised that a thorough investigation
would be conducted, with a view to coming
up with a report that would not only
address the current issues but would assist
in preventing future occurrence.
The panel made up of top management
staff in legal, investigations and monitoring
departments is headed by a lawyer, Mr Tony
Ojukwu, who is the Director, Monitoring
Department of the commission.