Fani-Kayode Reacts To Zaria Massacre, Warns Against Disaster
The killings of members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), a group propagating Shia Islam in Nigeria, by the Nigerian army has triggered a reaction from Femi Fani-Kayode, the former aviation minister.
Speaking on Channels TV morning show Sunrise Daily and monitored by Naij.com’s reporter, Fani-Kayode cautioned the Nigerian military and the federal government over the controversial clash, which began on Saturday, December 12, and continued a few days more.
Fani-Kayode Reacts To Zaria Massacre, Warns Against Disaster
READ ALSO: Buratai Under Attack Over Zaria Bloodbath
He said: “When our military gets up for any reason and kills between 500 – 1000 Shi’ite muslims, level their homes, shoot their leaders, digs up their burial sites and terrorizes them for any reason, you stand a danger of waking up a monster, which you just don’t want to wake up because the Shi’ite have immense support from places like Iran, and so you don’t want to invite them in the country’s matter.
“If you continue to kill Shi’ite members then you are going to invite disaster in this country. It’s absolutely fundamental that where mass murder is committed by our military or anybody in this country, I think it’s appropriate to sit up and condemn it. It’s absurd that the government has not come out to condemn what happened on that day. These are Nigerian people and they have a right to life.”
READ ALSO: Senate Moves To Probe Zaria Bloody Clash
On Saturday, December 12, a road, which is the only artery out of Zaria, Kaduna state, towards Sokoto state, was reportedly obstructed by the Shiites. Lt. General Buratai the army chief’s convoy came down to negotiate a passage, but was unsuccessful.
The army claim that Lt. General Buratai himself then alighted from his vehicle to negotiate passage, and this was when the alleged stoning and murder attempt began.
Later reports suggested that over the following two days, the army attacked Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, the leader of the Shiites, at his residence.
Sources say there were gunshots and explosions through the day and night, and by the end of Sunday, December 13, reports came through that Muhammad Turi, Zakzaky’s deputy, had been killed. Also reported were the deaths of Zakzaky’s wife, a son, and some other senior members of the group as El-Zakzaky was detained by the army.
Days after, the Iranian officials and media condemned and expressed concern over the attack on the prominent Shi’ite cleric Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky by the Nigerian military. The Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, called on the Nigerian authorities to respect religious figures and rites.
On Tuesday, December 15, President Muhammadu Buhari received a call from the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, over the Shi’ite bloodbath.
Various Iranian media outfits report that President Rouhani urged Buhari to act on the issue and “not allow a small matter degenerate into a bigger one”. A recent post by an online community has stirred panic, as the message suggests that the Iranian military might be planning an assault on Nigeria in revenge for the Shi’ites who were killed in Zaria.
According the post by a Facebook community called the “Iran Military”, the Iranian forces are apparently preparing to “pay a visit” to Nigeria, to avenge the souls of the Shia Muslims killed by the Nigerian army.
The threatening post dated December 15 made a joke of the Nigerian administration, terming it a “puppet regime”.
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