Arms stockpiling: Kaduna police boss, Islamic sect on war path

By Segun Olatunji, Kaduna

A crisis is brewing between the Kaduna State Police Command and the Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky-led Shi'ite Islamic Movement in the state over an alleged intelligence report accusing the sect of stockpiling arms and ammunition.










Our correspondent gathered that the police and the Muslim sect were now at loggerheads over the authorship of the intelligence report allegedly sent to the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro, on the group's activities.

In the two-page report dated February 13, 2009 and purportedly signed by the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Tambari Muhammed, the Islamic scholar and leader of the Shi'ite, El-Zakzaky and members of his sect were accused of keeping weapons.

The police in the report also accused El-Zakzaky of running a military training camp for the Shi'ites in Dambo, a village near Zaria.

Muhammed in the intelligence report sent to the IG urged the Federal Government to urgently take a "drastic action" to dislodge El-Zakzaky and members of the sect from the alleged military training centres in Dambo village and the Faddiya Islamic Centre, both in Zaria.

He added that El-Zakzaky and members of his sect had become more daring, dangerous and constituted a threat to the society.

But El-Zakzaky at a news conference made available the copies of the police commissioner's report titled, "Intelligence Report: Activities of Shi'ite Islamic Sect in Zaria Local Government Area of Kaduna State" to journalists.

He also conducted journalists round the two centres alleged to be arms and ammunition stores and military training camps.

The Shi'ite leader dismissed the police commissioner's security report as "a mere crying wolf where there was none with the major aim of giving a dog a bad name in order to hang it."

He described the police boss' intelligence report as a tissue of lies concocted to wipe out the group.

El-Zakzaky accused the police commissioner of having a hidden agenda and acting the script of some unnamed powerful people interested in dealing with the sect.

The police boss had in the intelligence report to Okiro said, "From available gathering, Dambo, a village under the local government not only serves as a training camp of the Shi'ite Islamic sect but a place were (sic) arms/ammunition are allegedly stored.

"The training camp is out of bound to the members of the public, except those who are linked to the Shi'ite sect. The village is guarded 24 hours by members of the group and they are strategically located around the area.

"Members of the sect are recruited in Kano , Sokoto, Zamfara, Kwara, Kogi , Niger , Jigawa, Adamawa, Gombe, Yobe, Kaduna , Katsina, Bauchi states and the neighbouring Niger Republic . In fact, 95 per cent of its members are not from Kaduna State .
"Intelligence report further reveals that Faddiya Islamic Centre, which serves as the headquarters of the Shi'ite Islamic group in Zaria , not only accommodates some Shi'ite members; but also serves as a centre where films are produced.

"These films are shot at the centre for onward delivery to Iran and other Shi'ite countries. The films portray Nigeria 's image in bad light. This attracts sympathy for monetary form of donations from these countries."


http://odili.net/news/source/2009/mar/19/410.html

southerners beware.