By; Mohammad Ibrahim, Kaduna.
One hundred days after Zaria clash between the Army and Members of Islamic Movement of Nigeria known as Shi’ites, the Islamic Human Right Commission (IHRC) have dragged Federal Government and the Military to International Criminal Court (ICC) in Hague over the killings.
The group accused the government and the military of war crime against the movement.
Shi’ites spokesman, Ibrahim Musa while addressing newsmen disclosed this in Kaduna.
He urged ICC to investigate the massacre of nearly 1000 civilians in Nigeria last December at the hands of the country’s armed forces.
According to him, IHRC has called on the international tribunal which has a mandate to prosecute people for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, to open a preliminary inquiry into the events in Zaria last year in which Soldiers attacked the Islamic Movement of Nigeria’s (IMN) supporters, symbols and property.
“Over 1000 IMN members were murdered by the Soldiers in just two days. This is a crime against humanity, it is a crime committed against us with the intention of eliminating our members.
“The assault over two days left a trail of bloodshed and destruction including the shooting of the movement’s leader Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky and his wife Zeenat. Both are currently believed to be in military custody, detained without charge,” he said.
The spokesman also said the movement will also constitute other legal cases against the Federal Government and military over the Zaria killings.
“All we want is justice for our members and our leader. We are still working alongside our Lawyers to file other lawsuits against the government and military over their atrocities against our members,” he said.
He also demanded for the release of their members who are still in jails despite their gunshots injuries.
On whether they believed their leader is still alive he said “we are confident our leader Sheikh Zakzaky is still alive. This is because we believe in what the committee set up by Supreme Council of Nigeria told us when they met him. We know they will not lie to us,” he said.
