Nigeria: End Repression of Shia Group
Nigerian authorities should end their violent repression of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), a minority Shia group, that began with a three-day lethal crackdown on December 12-14, 2015, and free its leader, Human Rights Watch said today.
Nigerian authorities should end their violent repression of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), a minority Shia group, that began with a three-day lethal crackdown on December 12-14, 2015, and free its leader, Human Rights Watch said today.
SheikhIbraheem El Zakzaky, leader of the IMN, and his wife, Zeenatudeen, have been detained without trial for a year. On December 12, 2015, the Nigeria army used disproportionate force against the group’s street procession in Zaria, Kaduna State in northwestern Nigeria to clear a route for the army chief’s convoy. In an ensuing three-day violent crackdown, the army killed 347 members of the group and injured and arrested scores more. The violence against the group continued in a series of episodes in October and November 2016.
“The involvement of soldiers in the Zaria incidents, and subsequent police actions against the Islamic Movement raises major questions about Nigeria’s commitment to military reform,” said MausiSegun, senior Nigeria researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The Kaduna state government’s continued repression of the group without holding the attackers responsible turns justice on its head.”
Human Rights Watch reported in December 2015 that the killings were unjustified and called for an independent and impartial investigation into the carnage.
