Shiites: Why people are indifferent to the killings in Zaria

Vanguard

On January 30, 201612:05 amIn Issues, NewsComments

In the aftermath of the bloody clash between members of the Shiite sect and the military recently, Ben Agande who has been following the development, travelled to Zaria and captured the mood of some of the injured members of the sect still on admission at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital.

For Mohammed Abdulkareem, a Senior Secondary School 3 student, life as he had known it in the last fourteen years will never be the same again. He was shot multiple times as he backed off from the Shiite headquarters when the Nigerian army invaded the place to drive out members of the sect who had earlier barricaded the Zaria-Sokoto road and prevented the chief of army staff from passing through. He sustained gun shots to his leg which left him with a fractured femur. The gun shot to his back exited though his abdomen leaving a large wound that was encased in a huge plastic when Vanguard visited him on his hospital bed at the Ahmadu Bello University Hospital.


•One of the victims allegedly shot in her private part

Apart from the gun shot wound he suffered, his anatomy was seriously affected to the extent that in the last thirty days, it has been impossible for him to defecate normally. Instead, one of the members of the movement who has been assigned to look after the injured members at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital where most of the injured members were admitted, Mallam Anas Abubakar Abi on a daily basis, inserts his hand into young Abdulkareem’s anus to evacuate the faeces trapped between his anus and the rectum. Wearing gloves, Abubakar Abi demonstrated this in the presence of this reporter. He had been put though on this by the nurses.

But what Mohammed Abdulkareem is going through pales into insignificance when compared with the fate of fourteen year old girl also admitted at the female orthopedic female ward of hospital. Apart from a broken leg from a gun shot, this innocent looking girl who remained fully veiled on her sick hospital bed was violated in the most private of her body: she was allegedly shot on her private part after allegedly resisting attempted rape by one of the soldiers who invaded the residence of the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria where many members of the sect had gone to seek refuge.

The narrative as to what really happened on that fateful day has been that of the Nigerian army and the members of the Islamic sect, whose leader is being held in an unknown safe house in Abuja by the security services while some members of its top echelon have been decimated. According to the army’s account, it’s leader, the chief of army staff survived an assassination attempt when members of the sect, against all supplications prevented him from accessing the Zaria-Sokoto road to attend an official function at the Nigerian Army Depot, the passing out parade of new recruits and pay homage to the emir of Zaria.

It explained rather cavalierly that those who died in the encounter were those who carried out the attempted attack. Though the army said it came under attack from members of the sect, it never displayed any weapon captured from the sect; neither did it show any member of its troop that was wounded. But the Shiites sect has a different story line. At worst, it believed that it’s members were victims of a premeditated attack from the army which it accused of nursing a grudge against members of the sect who are by the way, minorities in a country where majority of the over seventy million Muslims belong to the Sunni sect. It points to its members who are still on admission at the Hospital as living proof of the Army’s brutality.

The two patients under reference above are among the over seventy four others who were brought to the hospital a day after the bloody encounter between the army and the Shiites sect. While a substantial number of the wounded members had been treated and discharged and about four reportedly died of their gun shot wounds, seven remained on admission with varying degrees of injuries when Vanguard visited.

Despite the grave violence visited on members of the sect and the huge casualty incurred, the mood among the majority in Zaria including non-Muslims in the ancient Zaria city appears to be at best, indifferent and at worst celebratory to the fate of the Shiites. A cross section of some Muslims who spoke with Saturday vanguard on what befell the Shiites members expressed the views that the Shiites got what they deserved. But what would make some body, especially people of same faith celebrate the brutal killing of its members? Why are Muslims in Zaria not outraged by the mass killings of Shiites members by the military?

According to Dr Sadiqque Abubakar, a lecturer in the department of Political Science at the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, the indifference of majority of the residents of Zaria City to the fate of Shiites could be explained in three ways; the lawlessness and over-zealousness of the Shiites for a long time without check, the prejudice against Shiite by the majority Sunni community in Zaria who don’t see the Shiites as true Muslims and the pains caused by the Shiites to Zaria residents any time they block the roads for their very many processions and ceremonies. They are accused of annexing places with ease.

His view especially on the blockage of road with seeming impunity was shared by many other members of the Zaria community who spoke with Saturday Vanguard. Mr Ikechukwu Chinwendu who owns a furniture shop that shares a boundary with the now demolished headquarters of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria and has stayed in Zaria for more than fifteen years. He corroborated the views of Dr Abubakar. He said that though members of the sect are not overtly violent, “when they block the road for their ceremonies, they are usually armed with dangerous weapons like knives,

Cutlasses, Catapult and all sorts of Arsenal. Their mere sight is terrorizing. People don’t like them because any time they have a ceremony in Zaria, the whole town is brought to a stand still. The police most times appear helpless. The people therefore see what the army did as a way of liberation. There is no body in Zaria who has not suffered from the excesses of the Shiite activities in Zaria” he said.

But for Harun El Binawi, a Shiite blogger who lives in Kaduna, the indifference of or even support of the majority Sunni Muslims in Zaria and northern Nigeria for the army massacre against the Shiites has wider dimension with its roots in the international gang up against Shiites worldwide.

According to him, “this can be assessed in two perspectives: the silence of the international community on the massacre in Zaria and the celebration of the Zaria community. It is the infiltration of Wahhabism into this country that has brought about the hate mongering in the country. One of the universal agendas of Wahhabism is to kill Shiites where ever they are. That is why in the Middle East, in Pakistan, in Afghanistan Shiites have been target of attack by Wahhabis. The people in Zaria who are celebrating the massacre of Shiites in Zaria are people who have been contaminated by the Wahhabis ideology. If it was Christians that were killed in that encounter, they would have been celebrating as well”.

Though there appeared to have been a unanimous condemnation of the seeming excesses of some Shiites followers when they block the roads during their procession, many residents of Zaria believe that the blockage of the road was used as an excuse by the army to deal with the Shiites once and for all, and that the army was emboldened to carry out the killings because the Shiites are a minority who do not enjoy wide support in the immediate community.

According to Dr Sadiqque Abubabkar, though the Shiites were wrong to have blocked the road and prevented the chief of army staff from passing, it was not enough reason for the army to visit hell on them.

“But if you look at what is happening and when you ask people, they will tell you that they (Shiites) blocked the road. But people do not see what others are doing. Go to any major town in the north on Fridays. What you will see is not different from what the Shiites do, even in Zaria. On Fridays, roads are blocked when it is time for prayers. It is not only the Shiites. Until recently when Governor El Rufai intervened, if you were driving from Kaduna to Zaria, you kept meeting road blocks especially when you come to Zaria. So what they accuse the Shiites of doing, they also do it. It all boils down to the fact that the Shiites are Minorities and they are not seen as Muslims. What ever the Shiites do is magnified.

All Muslim groups in the north block the roads. It is not the exclusive preserve of the Shiites. If people want to have reasons to blame the Shiites, they have to have that outside the examples I have given you” he said. And for the state, Dr Sadiqque has a very strong message: How you treat minorities and the weak would determine how People take you serious and will go a long way in ensuring peace in the country.

“ We are all Nigerians and we are supposed to be protected by the Nigerian state. we are also expected to respect the laws of the country. Any citizen who breaks the law must be dealt with according to the law. If it is traffic offence, the laws dealing with traffic offences are there. Those laws must be applied. No body must be above the law. We forgo the use of arms because there are people in Nigeria who have been appointed by the Nigerian state to use arms legally but they do not have the right to use the arms given to them indiscriminately.

They must be used within the confines of the laws otherwise they are stimulating anarchy. The very moment people realise that those who have been given arms to protect them are using the arms against them; they will also find a means of protecting themselves which means they will also acquire arms because they will not allow themselves to be sitting ducks. That is the danger. The state must ensure that all agencies allowed by the law to use arms use them according to the laws of the country.

“I am not saying that the Shiites are absolutely right; they have no right to block public space, to block road, but there are laws to deal with that. It does not call for mobilization of troops to start shooting people indiscriminately. There were people who were going about their legitimate businesses that were caught in the shooting.

“What is very frightening is that because something like this happened and because it happened to a minority group, people tend to be happy with it. No matter what the Shiites did, they did not deserve the kind of reaction that they got. Are we saying that we will condone the massacre of minorities, groups we don’t agree with? I think our responsibility is to insist that the laws must take its course. Those who carried out the massacre in Zaria are expected to respect the laws of the country. What would they say if others do not respect the law?

That is my fear. We know what happened in the case of Boko Haram. It is really frightening that in a community like this, soldiers will come and kill people. The way even the corpses were handled was very bad. They came with a truck on a broad day light and throw the bodies in the truck. Life has become meaningless. What are you teaching those young boys who were watching?” He lamented.

With the setting up of a judicial panel by the governor of Kaduna state, Nasir el Rufai to investigate the circumstances leading to the crisis, it is expected that perhaps a new insight would be given into the incident and perhaps the people of Zaria may give an insight into why the Shiites are treated with contempt and dislike. But with the decision of the Shiites to boycott the panel sitting alleging bias of the panel members, the Shittes may not respect the report of the panel.

For the victims still in the hospital, whatever the outcome of the panel, their faith in their sect remains strong. “I may not be able to use my private part for normal delivery of a baby again. I may have to limp through out my life if the doctors are able to mend my broken legs. But for as long as I live, I will continue to follow my faith of Islam and I will continue to follow our leader. No gun can discourage me” said Amina, one of the victims at the ABUTH who was allegedly shot in her private part.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/01/shiites-why-people-are-indifferent-to-the-killings-in-zaria/

Nonsense

Bahari is above the useless law

Indeed people are very indifferent on their opinion.

Because it is an Igbo propaganda

cocoduck:
Bahari is above the useless law

So buhari should fold his hands and allow some people challenge the State unpunished?
When you commit acts capable of affecting the country's national security then be prepared for the unwholesome consequences.... Just like the dilector is finding out in kuje

Senseless propaganda by people like the op who rationalize murder in Syria by a govt and then delude themselves that IMN (a group sponsored by a foreign govt with the intent to create another hezbollah in Nigeria with arms and pose a significant threat to the country. ) and shiasm a sect in Islam continue to open the eyes of others to what nefarious group zazzaky was running.

Nigerians are not indifferent we are puzzled that a group would proudly state they forced a governor from his motocade for no sensible reason with no apology whatsoever from the group's leader, we are puzzled that while whenever I go to mosque I do not even take a table knife but memebers of IMN would brandish machetes, sickle, knives and other while on their so called processions , we are puzzled that a group being sponsored a foreign govt which has a strategy of promoting sectarianism and armed by such govt, we are puzzled at the mistreatment the sect dished to its neighbors. We await the govt panel on the incident.

chriskosherbal:
Indeed people are very indifferent on their opinion.

actually what i still find very difficult to understand is the "opinion" of the so called Zaria residents. after the killings, articles were written and "elders" in Zaria gave opinions that the religious ceremonies of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria caused them "sufferings" for decades, and in particular the road blocks. yet, we saw a video following the killings of Zaria residents/ youths looting the corpses of Shi'ites. even though there are Zaria residents who gave positive opinions on the Shi'ites being peaceful, non-violent, offering social services (ambulance) to the sick in Zaria, sharing food on festivities, and protecting the lives of non-Muslims (Christians) during the post election violence in 2011, why should people who loot dead bodies be taken seriously? these same people would block roads on Fridays for Jum'ah prayer.

vedaxcool:
Senseless propaganda by people like the op who rationalize murder in Syria by a govt and then delude themselves that IMN (a group sponsored by a foreign govt with the intent to create another hezbollah in Nigeria with arms and pose a significant threat to the country. ) and shiasm a sect in Islam continue to open the eyes of others to what nefarious group zazzaky was running.

shut up! Wahhabi fannatic who supports terrorist groups fighting the Syrian government. if under no excuse and circumstances i can support boko haram against the legitimate government of Nigeria, i dont either see why any sane person can support the equivalent of boko haram Salafist/Wahhabi terror groups fighting the Syrian government. if you dont like your president, vote him out peacefully during elections. most of assad's army, government, ministers, and even his wife are Sunni Moslems. yet your Sunni sectarianism blinds you of all that and you refuse to see because Assad is from an Alawite (Shia sub-sect) background.

you dont reason anyways. you will reply with nonsense and mockery and silly emoticon to portray you are flashing your dirty teeth; like this one

Nigerians are not indifferent we are puzzled that a group would proudly state they forced a governor from his motocade for no sensible reason with no apology whatsoever from the group's leader, we are puzzled that while whenever I go to mosque I do not even take a table knife but memebers of IMN would brandish machetes, sickle, knives and other while on their so called processions , we are puzzled that a group being sponsored a foreign govt which has a strategy of promoting sectarianism and armed by such govt, we are puzzled at the mistreatment the sect dished to its neighbors. We await the govt panel on the incident.

on fridays, let any government official go to a Sunni Muslim populated locality and see if they would allow him way to pass. he would not. all of a sudden you have grown sensitive and sense to road block because a community you do not like have been punished for it. the "mistreatement" of blocking roads is all over, both in Christianity and Islam. aside, isn't the looting of dead bodies of Shi'ites by these same neighbours/Zaria residents also "mistreatment"? what does Islam says about not desecrating the dead? doesn't the dead have sanctity in Islam?

your fulani brothers, even the ones repairing shoes, carry dagger all around. is that religion or culture?

most Wahhabi/Salafist oriented groups, not only in Nigeria, but all over the world, be they peaceful or violent, get support from Saudi. when you see free money, who would refuse, including you?

When a president shows so much indifference to the shittes killings in zaria as glaringly seen from his presidential media chat then it calls to question on which part of the divide he stands.

Shiite vs Sunni religious war has been a recurrent decimal on global stage for centuries and hope this country will not be foolishly pushed into another theatre of avoidable violence and killings whilst trying to win the war against BH terrorists.

https://www.nairaland.com/2821855/origins-shiite-sunni-split-npr

Onyocha:


actually what i still find very difficult to understand is the "opinion" of the so called Zaria residents. after the killings, articles were written and "elders" in Zaria gave opinions that the religious ceremonies of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria caused them "sufferings" for decades, and in particular the road blocks. yet, we saw a video following the killings of Zaria residents/ youths looting the corpses of Shi'ites. even though there are Zaria residents who gave positive opinions on the Shi'ites being peaceful, non-violent, offering social services (ambulance) to the sick in Zaria, sharing food on festivities, and protecting the lives of non-Muslims (Christians) during the post election violence in 2011, why should people who loot dead bodies be taken seriously? these same people would block roads on Fridays for Jum'ah prayer.

When you breach national security then you are history.... No court tries a matter of national security

Too long

SmartChoices:

When you breach national security then you are history.... No court tries a matter of national security

no one tolerates breach to national security. national security is an asset to the entire nation, including the judge in the court and the soldier on the battlefield. however, what is national security? you also have to educate people on how not to breach it and who has breached it. and no matter what, you cannot do without a court of law. its all about enforcing law and order. even during military rule, the courts functioned, and judiciary remained standing. it is not right to protect national security while destroying the courts and ignoring they exist. national security can be protected too through the courts.

Onyocha:


no one tolerates breach to national security. national security is an asset to the entire nation, including the judge in the court and the soldier on the battlefield. however, what is national security? you also have to educate people on how not to breach it and who has breached it. and no matter what, you cannot do without a court of law. its all about enforcing law and order. even during military rule, the courts functioned, and judiciary remained standing. it is not right to protect national security while destroying the courts and ignoring they exist. national security can be protected too through the courts.

When you block the convoy of the Nation's army chief and stamp a general on his chest.... With a history of disregard for the Nigerian law .... Then you have committed a grave breach of national security.... And it's the military's duty to ensure that doesn't occur or reoccur in any manner.... The ABU lecturer who dropped off his kids there when he was fully aware of the Confrontation with the military should be sacked.... .. Buratai owes no apologies.... Non should be requested

SmartChoices:

When you block the convoy of the Nation's army chief and stamp a general on his chest.... With a history of disregard for the Nigerian law .... Then you have committed a grave breach of national security.... And it's the military's duty to ensure that doesn't occur or reoccur in any manner.... The ABU lecturer who dropped off his kids there when he was fully aware of the Confrontation with the military should be sacked.... .. Buratai owes no apologies.... Non should be requested

the ABU lecturer dropped his kids in a house, not on the road. the confrontation on the road was wrong on the part of the lawless youths of Zakzaky. after the road was forcefully cleared, can you explain the rationale behind the soldiers regrouping and going to attack the house of Zakzaky, the worship place, cemetery, etc.? there were people in those places who got affected that had nothing to do with the insult of the lawless youth to the army on the highway. they found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Onyocha:


the ABU lecturer dropped his kids in a house, not on the road. the confrontation on the road was wrong on the part of the lawless youths of Zakzaky. after the road was forcefully cleared, can you explain the rationale behind the soldiers regrouping and going to attack the house of Zakzaky, the worship place, cemetery, etc.? there were people in those places who got affected that had nothing to do with the insult of the lawless youth to the army on the highway. they found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Because you have to dismantle the militias command and control center and ensure that they loose the capacity to wage such hostilities or disturbances ever again

SmartChoices:

Because you have to dismantle the militias command and control center and ensure that they loose the capacity to wage such hostilities or disturbances ever again

interesting. ok.

SmartChoices:

When you block the convoy of the Nation's army chief and stamp a general on his chest.... With a history of disregard for the Nigerian law .... Then you have committed a grave breach of national security.... And it's the military's duty to ensure that doesn't occur or reoccur in any manner.... The ABU lecturer who dropped off his kids there when he was fully aware of the Confrontation with the military should be sacked.... .. Buratai owes no apologies.... Non should be requested

That man Zakizaki is a trouble maker terrorising the people of Zaria, now that a scape goat had been made of him and his sect members , any other group planning to look for trouble will think twice.

Shi'ites activities have always been a treat to d people of Zaria. I want to tell u dat some people don t sleep deep in Zaria wen dis procession of Shi'ites commences. Yes it is true dat they ve not been harmful in d past . Buh wen u see dem in their numbers u begin to imagine , if at al dis people decide to attack d community, how e go b?? Which kind procession u go dey do with gariyo , takobi(spade), knives , sword na d ones wey we see b dat o wat about d ones wey dey under clothes ??

Onyocha:


interesting. ok.

Please study the art of war....sun tzu
Read more about wars...... War can start without a shot being fired...

rayblast:
Shi'ites activities have always been a treat to d people of Zaria. I want to tell u dat some people don t sleep deep in Zaria wen dis procession of Shi'ites commences. Yes it is true dat they ve not been harmful in d past . Buh wen u see dem in their numbers u begin to imagine , if at al dis people decide to attack d community, how e go b?? Which kind procession u go dey do with gariyo , takobi(spade), knives , sword na d ones wey we see b dat o wat about d ones wey dey under clothes ??

And you confront the Nation's army chief, thump a general on the chest..... Then after receiving your just debit alerts.... You come to Nairaland to open a wailing thread for public sympathy.... Hell no! You ain't gonna get none here!

I believe lessons have been learnt.

They are same

[s]

Onyocha:


shut up! Wahhabi fannatic who supports terrorist groups fighting the Syrian government. if under no excuse and circumstances i can support boko haram against the legitimate government of Nigeria, i dont either see why any sane person can support the equivalent of boko haram Salafist/Wahhabi terror groups fighting the Syrian government. if you dont like your president, vote him out peacefully during elections. most of assad's army, government, ministers, and even his wife are Sunni Moslems. yet your Sunni sectarianism blinds you of all that and you refuse to see because Assad is from an Alawite (Shia sub-sect) background.

you dont reason anyways. you will reply with nonsense and mockery and silly emoticon to portray you are flashing your dirty teeth; like this one



on fridays, let any government official go to a Sunni Muslim populated locality and see if they would allow him way to pass. he would not. all of a sudden you have grown sensitive and sense to road block because a community you do not like have been punished for it. the "mistreatement" of blocking roads is all over, both in Christianity and Islam. aside, isn't the looting of dead bodies of Shi'ites by these same neighbours/Zaria residents also "mistreatment"? what does Islam says about not desecrating the dead? doesn't the dead have sanctity in Islam?

your fulani brothers, even the ones repairing shoes, carry dagger all around. is that religion or culture?

most Wahhabi/Salafist oriented groups, not only in Nigeria, but all over the world, be they peaceful or violent, get support from Saudi. when you see free money, who would refuse, including you?

[/s]

Like those street miscreants in the video you lack manners, you would do more for yourself if you spend more time learning manners than spreading paid Iranian lies for a living.

vedaxcool:
[s][/s]
Like those street miscreants in the video you lack manners, you would do more for yourself if you spend more time learning manners than spreading paid Iranian lies for a living.

you and manners are an oxymoron.

i post here as pastime to share my opinion and learn from others. people like you are for entertainment. check your posts, and they are full of insults and e-fighting. something i do not indulge in or waste my time on.

My empathy comes with a clause

Go ahead and call me words that end in ‘paths'

Human beings can be WICKED. I fear o


No matter what these people have done, they do not deserve this at all.

daretodiffer:
My empathy comes with a clause

Go ahead and call me words that end in ‘paths'

Human beings can be WICKED. I fear o


No matter what these people have done, they do not deserve this at all.

They deserve more than they got... In fact the army actually acted nicely this time..... You don't challenge the symbols of a country's sovereignty without getting badly burnt

Why naming my igbo brother and his shop beside shiite headquarters?

Hmmmmmmmmmmm

LordMecuzy:
Why naming my igbo brother and his shop beside shiite headquarters?


Hmmmmmmmmmmm

I saw that too. They threw in that to try and 'balance' the views but we are not fooled.

I hate violence

What can I say? ...... ...