By; Juliana Katung, Kaduna.
The Kaduna state government on Monday said gave account of how 347 unidentified bodies of persons killed in the 12th-14th December clash between the Nigeria Army and members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), also known as Shi’ite, were conveyed from Zaria to Kaduna and given mass burial on 14th December, 2015 in Mando.
The Secretary to the State Government, Balarabe
Abbas Lawal revealed this while giving the state’s attestations before the commission of inquiry looking into the clash.
According to him, 156 corpses were taken from the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), Zaria, while 191 corpses were brought in from the Nigerian Depot, Zaria which were buried at the grave yard along Mando-Zaria road.
The SSG added that the demolition of Husainiyya, Dambo
centres, El-zakzaky house, Alhaji Tijjani Muhammad’s house, Alhaji Aminu Idris’s house, and Jushi; which were weak structures and were demolished without any ulterior or
political reasons but for the public safety nand standards.
In his presentations, one of the stakeholders; the director General, Interfaith Kaduna, Nemadi Musa said he received a phone call by the Kaduna state government directing him to go to Zaria to find out the number of corpses and how they would be buried in company of the state Commissioner of Police.
According to him, they saw and counted 156 corpses in ABUTH, Zaria. He added that they proceded to the Nigerian Army Depot, as directed by, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) regarding the corpses but was denied access and information of the dead bodies after he introducing himself to one Major Ogundare there.
Musa said, he was later told by the SSG that there were a
total of 191 corpses at the Nigerian Depot; which he also confirmed during the burial as he counted it one after the other while being laid in the grave and that the burial lasted from about 12.00 midnight to 5.30am.
He said they left Nigeria Depot with three heavy duty trucks and 60 young officers who escorted them to assist in off loading the corpses while five small trucks carried the 196 corpses From ABUTH, Zaria.
The Interfaith DG said he noticed that most corpses were covered with black materials and they included women and
children.
The General Manager, Kaduna State Public Works Agency (KAPWA), Engineer Tanimu Abubakar in his own presentation said he went with Mallam Lawal Magaji to inspect the structures before they were demolished and the report was submitted to the State government after inspection.
Acccording to him, the Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Agency (KASUPDA), on the appalling state of the structures in which it made recommendations, revealled that the puncture from the clash was responsible for the weakness of the building which warranted the demolition.
Another witness, Deputy Director in the state Ministry of Works and Transport, Engr. Mohammad Lawal Magaji said, in the course of the inspection, he observed that the buildings were damaged which necessitated the demolition.
He added that he has never seen the structures before
the incident (clash) happened.
Meanwhile the Director, Clinical Services, Department of Surgery, ABUTH, Prof. Adamu Ahmed said the hospital received a total Number of 66 patients durind the incident at the Accident and Emergency unit on 13th December, 2015 which he said was overwhelming compared to the number of facilities on ground but had to mobilize other Doctors, Nurses and resources to attend to the patients.
He said patients were sorted out based on their needs for medical attention and some were resuscitated.
Another set of 43 patients were received on 15th December, 2015, he said, while on 16th December also, six patients were received.
The patients admitted in the hospitals include after the incident he said were mostly male with the youngest being 13 years and oldest 43.
