₦airaland Forum

'Military planning to attack Shi'ites in Katsina'

By Ibrahim Kabiru Sule | Publish Date: Mar 30 2016 8:09PM

The Nigerian Army is deploying more troops to Katsina state in an attempt to clampdown on the Islamic Movement at its scheduled Maulud procession in the state, the group claimed on Wednesday.

It said in a statement by its spokesperson, Ibrahim Musa that upon noticing how the army surrounded the main Juma'at mosque of the sect, where the procession was billed to take off, the movement relocated the takeoff point to stave off any possible clashes.

"However to our consternation, reinforcement was brought from neighbouring formations of the army, and roadblocks were mounted on almost all the major roads leading to Katsina city.

"We have been reliably informed that the army is set to replicate the wanton destruction of lives and properties it carried out in Zaria last December," it said.

The statement said the army's plan was to "attack the Markaz Islamic centre in the town any moment from now...as it did to Husainiyya Islamic centre in Zaria."

The sect said there are indications that some officers in the Nigerian army belong to "Jihadi" group and therefore remain poised to ending the Islamic Movement.

It also said security officers in Kebbi state have also imposed ban on any Islamic Movement's educational program in all the state's local government.

"In fact, about ten members of the Islamic Movement are presently facing prosecution simply for attending an educational session in a mosque in Birnin Kebbi," it added.


Read more at http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/-military-planning-to-attack-shi-ites-in-katsina/140239.html#KEJhxB60gxBriqEl.99

The Hypocrisy of Governor Bello Masari of Katsina state

March 30, 2016

The Hypocrisy of Governor Bello Masari of Katsina state:

The speech of the Katsina state Governor Bello Masari on today’s harassment and intimidation by the Nigerian Army against members of #IMN who were on a peaceful procession to mark the birth anniversary of Sayyeda Fatima bnt Muhammad ( as ) smack of hypocrisy.

Which law in Nigeria prohibits the procession for Sayyeda Fatima ( as ), the illustrious daughter of the Messenger of God ( sa )? If Governor Masari agrees that all Nigerians have the right to practice their religion then why sent heavily-armed soldiers against a procession that is largely dominated by women and children?

The fact that Governor Masari sent heavily – armed soldiers against a peaceful procession underlined his hypocrisy. Where is the police and the civil defense force that were specially trained in crowd control?

Do these bloodthirsty Saudi hunting dogs in Nigeria think that by killing the peaceful members of IMN that will frightened them and make them become Wahhabis? When these bloodthirsty war criminals had tarnish the image of Islam by killing close to 1000 defenseless & unarmed Nigerians in Zaria and buried them in mass graves, who will be attracted to their deviant and warped Wahhabism?

Members of IMN are not armed, why should the oppressive and tyrannical Nigerian regime continue to send heavily-armed soldiers to their programs and activities to kill them?

When members of IMN built their #Husseiniyya in Zaria for their programs and activities, the Nigerian regime bombed it with civilians inside and completely destroyed it. And when IMN members want to use the central Mosque in Katsina for their programs, the Katsina state Governor Bello Masari sent heavily-armed soldiers to prevent them from using it. Then where does the Nigerian regime want the IMN to use for its programs and activities? This is the evil Saudi-sponsored Wahhabi agenda unfolding.

The Nigerian hunting dogs of the corrupt House of Saud that has light the fire of war and destruction in many Muslim countries should understand that massacres and brutal slaughter of people will never make them abandoned their noble ways to come and follow the ways of their inhuman killers!

The international community should hold the Nigerian President Buhari and his cabal responsible for the genocide unfolding against the peaceful members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria under the leadership of His Eminence Sheikh Ibraheem #Zakzaky. The Nigerian regime should return the death bodies of the close to 1000 defenseless & unarmed Nigerians that they killed in Zaria to their families for proper Islamic burial.

#FreeZakzaky
#GodProtectZakzaky
Harun Elbinawi
elbinawi@yahoo.com
Elbinawi.

https://elbinawi./2016/03/30/the-hypocrisy-of-governor-bello-masari-of-katsina-state/

The Hypocrisy of Governor Bello Masari of Katsina state

March 30, 2016

The Hypocrisy of Governor Bello Masari of Katsina state:

The speech of the Katsina state Governor Bello Masari on today’s harassment and intimidation by the Nigerian Army against members of #IMN who were on a peaceful procession to mark the birth anniversary of Sayyeda Fatima bnt Muhammad ( as ) smack of hypocrisy.

Which law in Nigeria prohibits the procession for Sayyeda Fatima ( as ), the illustrious daughter of the Messenger of God ( sa )? If Governor Masari agrees that all Nigerians have the right to practice their religion then why sent heavily-armed soldiers against a procession that is largely dominated by women and children?

The fact that Governor Masari sent heavily – armed soldiers against a peaceful procession underlined his hypocrisy. Where is the police and the civil defense force that were specially trained in crowd control?

Do these bloodthirsty Saudi hunting dogs in Nigeria think that by killing the peaceful members of IMN that will frightened them and make them become Wahhabis? When these bloodthirsty war criminals had tarnish the image of Islam by killing close to 1000 defenseless & unarmed Nigerians in Zaria and buried them in mass graves, who will be attracted to their deviant and warped Wahhabism?

Members of IMN are not armed, why should the oppressive and tyrannical Nigerian regime continue to send heavily-armed soldiers to their programs and activities to kill them?

When members of IMN built their #Husseiniyya in Zaria for their programs and activities, the Nigerian regime bombed it with civilians inside and completely destroyed it. And when IMN members want to use the central Mosque in Katsina for their programs, the Katsina state Governor Bello Masari sent heavily-armed soldiers to prevent them from using it. Then where does the Nigerian regime want the IMN to use for its programs and activities? This is the evil Saudi-sponsored Wahhabi agenda unfolding.

The Nigerian hunting dogs of the corrupt House of Saud that has light the fire of war and destruction in many Muslim countries should understand that massacres and brutal slaughter of people will never make them abandoned their noble ways to come and follow the ways of their inhuman killers!

The international community should hold the Nigerian President Buhari and his cabal responsible for the genocide unfolding against the peaceful members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria under the leadership of His Eminence Sheikh Ibraheem #Zakzaky. The Nigerian regime should return the death bodies of the close to 1000 defenseless & unarmed Nigerians that they killed in Zaria to their families for proper Islamic burial.

#FreeZakzaky
#GodProtectZakzaky
Harun Elbinawi
elbinawi@yahoo.com
Elbinawi.

https://elbinawi./2016/03/30/the-hypocrisy-of-governor-bello-masari-of-katsina-state/

Muhammed Ladan Insults Prophet Of Islam’s Lifestyle To Defend Buratai In Vanguard Propaganda Article

Read more: http://newsrescue.com/muhammed-ladan-insults-prophet-of-islams-lifestyle-to-defend-buratai-in-vanguard-propaganda-article/#ixzz44Dn3kgo9

Another False Flag Operation unfolding against #IMN

March 27, 2016

Another False Flag Operation unfolding against #IMN:

We got this message:

“A very reliable source from the Presidency just confirmed that there was an Intelligence Report since last week that the El Zakzaky people vowed to Kidnap military officers to negotiate as ransom for the release of their leader purported to be under military custody. The source further confirmed that the Intelligence Officer in the Depot NA Zaria is aware of the report since last week. Everyone needs to be extra careful especially those in Kaduna and Abuja metropolis.”

And we also got this announcement today from the Nigerian military authorities:

“Col S Inusa (44 RC) was abducted around NNPC junction. The abductors dropped off his wife and left with him in his car. The car headed towards Abuja. Anybody with useful info or assistance should please assist in tracking these abductors. They are in a Mercedes Benz GLK black colour with registration number Abuja, KUJ 154 TZ.
The incident happened yesterday evening ( Saturday 26 Mar 2016)
at NNPC junction, Kaduna.”

The question is why will IMN “kidnap military officers to negotiate as ransom for the release of their leader purported to be under military custody”? And after Sheikh Ibraheem #Zakzaky is released after this negotiations which country will he be staying?

The IMN under the leadership of His Eminence Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky has never engaged in criminal activities such as kidnapping or abduction or anything related to that and strongly condemned such criminal activities done under any pretext.

Since after the brutal #Zaria_Massacre by the Nigerian Army that killed close to one thousand defenseless & unarmed Nigerians in Zaria, the Nigerian government launched a smear campaign of calumny and demonization against #IMN and its leadership with the sole intention of justifying the brutal massacre and portraying the peaceful IMN as “criminal & terrorist organization”.

After the Agatu killings in Benue State, the Nigerian government sponsored a faceless group to blame IMN of those atrocities and senseless killings. But fortunately enough Nigerians refused to buy that monumental fraud because they know the history of the conflict between the Fulani nomads and the host farmers.

Nigerians are well aware of the rampancy of the cases of kidnappings in Nigeria for monetary ransom and the gross failure of the Nigerian authorities to eradicate it. There are mounting security challenges facing Nigeria such as the #BokoHaram insurgency, kidnappings, Oil bunkering, human trafficking, human organ trafficking etc but unfortunately what presently occupy the minds of our Nigerian oppressors is how to frame and demonize the peaceful Islamic Movement in Nigeria ( IMN ).

Instead of the Nigerian government to concentrate on how to tackle these security challenges, the government is trying to bury what is undoubtedly a brutal war crime and by extension demonizing the victims of its brutal massacre. The present Nigerian government that is executing a foreign sponsored imperialist agenda by these actions is insensitive to the deteriorating economic and social conditions of Nigerians and is displaying nonchalant attitude to the present extreme sufferings of Nigerians.

Finally, it is our hope that Col S Inusa and all those Nigerians kidnapped and abducted be freed and safely returned to their families. Kidnapping innocent Nigerians is a heinous crime that must be condemned by all.

#FreeZakzaky
#GodProtectZakzaky
Harun Elbinawi
elbinawi@yahoo.com
Elbinawi.

https://elbinawi./2016/03/27/another-false-flag-operation-unfolding-against-imn/

Another False Flag Operation unfolding against #IMN

March 27, 2016

Another False Flag Operation unfolding against #IMN:

We got this message:

“A very reliable source from the Presidency just confirmed that there was an Intelligence Report since last week that the El Zakzaky people vowed to Kidnap military officers to negotiate as ransom for the release of their leader purported to be under military custody. The source further confirmed that the Intelligence Officer in the Depot NA Zaria is aware of the report since last week. Everyone needs to be extra careful especially those in Kaduna and Abuja metropolis.”

And we also got this announcement today from the Nigerian military authorities:

“Col S Inusa (44 RC) was abducted around NNPC junction. The abductors dropped off his wife and left with him in his car. The car headed towards Abuja. Anybody with useful info or assistance should please assist in tracking these abductors. They are in a Mercedes Benz GLK black colour with registration number Abuja, KUJ 154 TZ.
The incident happened yesterday evening ( Saturday 26 Mar 2016)
at NNPC junction, Kaduna.”

The question is why will IMN “kidnap military officers to negotiate as ransom for the release of their leader purported to be under military custody”? And after Sheikh Ibraheem #Zakzaky is released after this negotiations which country will he be staying?

The IMN under the leadership of His Eminence Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky has never engaged in criminal activities such as kidnapping or abduction or anything related to that and strongly condemned such criminal activities done under any pretext.

Since after the brutal #Zaria_Massacre by the Nigerian Army that killed close to one thousand defenseless & unarmed Nigerians in Zaria, the Nigerian government launched a smear campaign of calumny and demonization against #IMN and its leadership with the sole intention of justifying the brutal massacre and portraying the peaceful IMN as “criminal & terrorist organization”.

After the Agatu killings in Benue State, the Nigerian government sponsored a faceless group to blame IMN of those atrocities and senseless killings. But fortunately enough Nigerians refused to buy that monumental fraud because they know the history of the conflict between the Fulani nomads and the host farmers.

Nigerians are well aware of the rampancy of the cases of kidnappings in Nigeria for monetary ransom and the gross failure of the Nigerian authorities to eradicate it. There are mounting security challenges facing Nigeria such as the #BokoHaram insurgency, kidnappings, Oil bunkering, human trafficking, human organ trafficking etc but unfortunately what presently occupy the minds of our Nigerian oppressors is how to frame and demonize the peaceful Islamic Movement in Nigeria ( IMN ).

Instead of the Nigerian government to concentrate on how to tackle these security challenges, the government is trying to bury what is undoubtedly a brutal war crime and by extension demonizing the victims of its brutal massacre. The present Nigerian government that is executing a foreign sponsored imperialist agenda by these actions is insensitive to the deteriorating economic and social conditions of Nigerians and is displaying nonchalant attitude to the present extreme sufferings of Nigerians.

Finally, it is our hope that Col S Inusa and all those Nigerians kidnapped and abducted be freed and safely returned to their families. Kidnapping innocent Nigerians is a heinous crime that must be condemned by all.

#FreeZakzaky
#GodProtectZakzaky
Harun Elbinawi
elbinawi@yahoo.com
Elbinawi.

https://elbinawi./2016/03/27/another-false-flag-operation-unfolding-against-imn/

Another False Flag Operation unfolding against #IMN
March 27, 2016

Another False Flag Operation unfolding against #IMN:

We got this message:

“A very reliable source from the Presidency just confirmed that there was an Intelligence Report since last week that the El Zakzaky people vowed to Kidnap military officers to negotiate as ransom for the release of their leader purported to be under military custody. The source further confirmed that the Intelligence Officer in the Depot NA Zaria is aware of the report since last week. Everyone needs to be extra careful especially those in Kaduna and Abuja metropolis.”

And we also got this announcement today from the Nigerian military authorities:

“Col S Inusa (44 RC) was abducted around NNPC junction. The abductors dropped off his wife and left with him in his car. The car headed towards Abuja. Anybody with useful info or assistance should please assist in tracking these abductors. They are in a Mercedes Benz GLK black colour with registration number Abuja, KUJ 154 TZ.
The incident happened yesterday evening ( Saturday 26 Mar 2016)
at NNPC junction, Kaduna.”

The question is why will IMN “kidnap military officers to negotiate as ransom for the release of their leader purported to be under military custody”? And after Sheikh Ibraheem #Zakzaky is released after this negotiations which country will he be staying?

The IMN under the leadership of His Eminence Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky has never engaged in criminal activities such as kidnapping or abduction or anything related to that and strongly condemned such criminal activities done under any pretext.

Since after the brutal #Zaria_Massacre by the Nigerian Army that killed close to one thousand defenseless & unarmed Nigerians in Zaria, the Nigerian government launched a smear campaign of calumny and demonization against #IMN and its leadership with the sole intention of justifying the brutal massacre and portraying the peaceful IMN as “criminal & terrorist organization”.

After the Agatu killings in Benue State, the Nigerian government sponsored a faceless group to blame IMN of those atrocities and senseless killings. But fortunately enough Nigerians refused to buy that monumental fraud because they know the history of the conflict between the Fulani nomads and the host farmers.

Nigerians are well aware of the rampancy of the cases of kidnappings in Nigeria for monetary ransom and the gross failure of the Nigerian authorities to eradicate it. There are mounting security challenges facing Nigeria such as the #BokoHaram insurgency, kidnappings, Oil bunkering, human trafficking, human organ trafficking etc but unfortunately what presently occupy the minds of our Nigerian oppressors is how to frame and demonize the peaceful Islamic Movement in Nigeria ( IMN ).

Instead of the Nigerian government to concentrate on how to tackle these security challenges, the government is trying to bury what is undoubtedly a brutal war crime and by extension demonizing the victims of its brutal massacre. The present Nigerian government that is executing a foreign sponsored imperialist agenda by these actions is insensitive to the deteriorating economic and social conditions of Nigerians and is displaying nonchalant attitude to the present extreme sufferings of Nigerians.

Finally, it is our hope that Col S Inusa and all those Nigerians kidnapped and abducted be freed and safely returned to their families. Kidnapping innocent Nigerians is a heinous crime that must be condemned by all.

#FreeZakzaky
#GodProtectZakzaky
Harun Elbinawi
elbinawi@yahoo.com
Elbinawi.

https://elbinawi./2016/03/27/another-false-flag-operation-unfolding-against-imn/

vedaxcool:
Nothing indicates Buratai is amongst them though only sympathizers of BH will hate him being there.

Check the picture in the yahoo news link. He is there

Buratai Attends Saudi Sunni Coalition Meeting in Riyadh

http://news.yahoo.com/army-chiefs-anti-terror-coalition-meet-saudi-173438249.html

NIGERIA’S MISSING SHEIKH IS A PROBLEM FOR BUHARI

BY CONOR GAFFEY ON 3/27/16 AT 10:08 AM

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POLITICS
NIGERIA’S MISSING SHEIKH IS A PROBLEM FOR BUHARI
BY CONOR GAFFEY ON 3/27/16 AT 10:08 AM
Shiite children demonstrate for the release of Sheikh Zakzaky in Kaduna.
Children of members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria campaign for the release of their leader Sheikh Zakzaky in Kaduna, Nigeria, March 14. Zakzaky has been in detention for more than three months, and his followers say he is being denied legal assistance.
STRINGER/REUTERS
Three months have passed since the leader of millions of Nigerian Shiite Muslims was dragged away from his followers after a bloody battle with soldiers.

Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, the leader of the Iranian-backed Islamic Movement in Nigeria, was arrested over the course of a few fateful days in Zaria, in northern Nigeria, when hundreds of his followers were killed in clashes with the Nigerian military. To the military, Zakzaky is a dangerous preacher and a threat to the integrity and unity of Nigeria. To his followers, he is a spiritual and political leader to whom they swear allegiance above all others.

Rumoured to have been shot six times during the clash, Zakzaky has been unreachable since January. He is currently believed to be in the custody of Nigeria’s intelligence agency, the State Security Service (DSS). “He’s held incommunicado so we cannot say whether he is recovering or what his status is now,” says Ibrahim Musa, the IMN’s media spokesman.

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Zakzaky is just one of hundreds of IMN members to have gone off the radar since the events of December 12-14, 2015. At least 300 members of the country’s main Shiite movement were killed in violent clashes with Nigerian soldiers, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). HRW’s report alleged that the military dumped bodies in mass graves, making a definitive death toll difficult to ascertain. Gruesome images and footage emerged online purporting to back up these claims, including photos of a bloodstained Zakzaky (the IMN claims he was shot at least six times during the clashes). According to the Nigerian army, the clashes were the result of a failed assassination attempt on the Chief of Army Staff ordered by Zakzaky; according to the IMN, they were unprovoked attacks by armed soldiers on unarmed worshippers.

Musa says that 750 people remain missing after the clashes. “Out of this many [missing] people, how many are dead or alive, we cannot say, because since what happened in December to date, no single corpse has been handed over to us so that we can give it the proper burial service,” says Musa. A further 191 IMN members are currently being held at Kaduna’s central prison in northern Nigeria, from where they will stand trial on March 29, charged with illegal possession of firearms and causing a public disturbance. The trial, combined with the continued absence of its spiritual leader, is likely to incite further anger among a movement that Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has accused of trying to create “a state within a state.”


The Kaduna state government has launched a commission of inquiry into the events that took place in Zaria and Nigeria’s defense headquarters recently established a human rights committee to investigate all allegations of violations against the military. Army spokesman Colonel Sani Usman previously told Newsweek that soldiers “followed all necessary procedures” during the incident and that the military was not and would never target “Shiites or any ethnic or religious group.” Brigadier-General Rabe Abubakar, Nigeria’s defense spokesman, told Newsweek it would not be appropriate to comment on Zakzaky’s detention or the forthcoming trial before the Kaduna inquiry was complete, but did say that the military had submitted itself to investigation since “we have nothing to hide.”

Zakzaky trained in Iran and began propagating Shiite Islam in Nigeria around the time of the 1979 Iranian revolution, which saw the overthrow of the monarchy and its replacement with an Islamic republic. He spent nine years in prison during the 1980s and 1990s on charges of civil disobedience brought by successive military regimes in Nigeria. While Shiites make up a small minority of Nigeria’s Muslim population—estimated at 76 million or just under half of the total population—Zakzaky’s IMN has been on the rise since the 1980s, according to Atta Athanasius Barkindo, a PhD candidate at SOAS University, London who works with rehabilitating violent extremists in Nigeria. Barkindo says that the movement is dominant in Zaria, where it has its own army and education system and where it fails to recognize symbols of national identity, such as the Nigerian flag—adding weight to Buhari’s “state within a state” comments.

According to Musa, Zakzaky's movement numbers anything between five million or 25 million members, all of whom are committed to establishing an Islamic system of governance in Nigeria. (HRW put the figure at a more modest three million.) ”[Zakzaky] is really radical when it comes to implementing Shariah,” says Marc-Antoine Perouse de Montclos, associate fellow at Chatham House, who has met Zakzaky several times in the past. “He’s got the same kind of rhetoric as Mohammed Yusuf from Boko Haram, whereby Shariah is the law of God and cannot be implemented properly under a constitution written by the hands of man.”

Parallels between Zakzaky’s situation and that of Yusuf have been raised before. The Boko Haram founder was also arrested following violent clashes between his Islamist movement and the state security apparatus—this time in Maiduguri, Borno state, in 2009. But, his detention followed a different path—Yusuf was killed in custody after the police claimed he tried to escape. His death pushed Boko Haram underground and into a more violent radicalism, which has seen the militant group claim tens of thousands of lives in northern Nigeria over the past six years. After the Zaria clashes, none less than Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, the 20th Sultan of Sokoto—traditionally viewed as the highest seat of Islamic authority in Nigeria— warned that the violence of the military towards the Zakzaky’s group bore a striking resemblance to the circumstances surrounding the outbreak of that militant insurgency, which must “not be allowed to repeat itself.”

The Sultan of Sokoto speaks in Abuja.
The Sultan of Sokoto Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar III (C), pictured addressing the media in Abuja on December 27, 2011, has warned the military to deal with Zakzaky's situation sensitively or risk radicalizing his followers.

The key difference between Zakzaky and Yusuf is that the former has never advocated armed struggle as a means to achieve the establishment of Islamic rule in Nigeria, according to Perouse de Montclos. What is concerning, he says, is the lack of accountability for the Zaria clashes among the military. According to Perouse de Montclos, not one military officer has been disciplined so far as a result of the clashes. “Zakzaky [and the Zaria clashes], for me, was the first big political mistake of Buhari’s administration where he shows that he does not control the army,” he says.

Zakzaky's movement has distanced itself from reports that it is planning a violent retaliation to the Zaria clashes. “For over 40 years, we have not been engaged in any violent acts. Whenever you hear of a clash between this movement and the security forces, it is the security forces who always come and attack us,” says Musa. Indeed, the December incident was not the first time the IMN has come into conflict with the Nigerian state: some 34 people were killed—including three of Zakzaky’s sons—when the movement clashed with military personnel during a July 2014 pro-Palestinian march in Zaria. But would the group’s espoused stance of nonviolence change should Zakzaky die in detention, as Yusuf did? “I cannot say this is what we will do,” says Musa. “I don’t like to think that it will reach that point, inshallah.”

http://europe.newsweek.com/sheikh-zakzaky-zaria-nigeria-islamic-movement-nigeria-439947?rm=eu

Zaria Massacre: Gen. Buratai ought to have been retired since January

March 26, 2016 - 12:02 PM

We are fully aware that the Buhari administration’s affront to rule of law and due process has risen to an apogee and may most likely continue in the case of the COAS; by retaining him against the laws of the land as he has always done. But we want to put it on record and consciousness of all Nigerians and members of the international community and Lt Gen Turkur Buratai himself that the end of his dark era is speedily nearing...


AhlulBayt News Agency - Lt Gen Turkur Buratai (COAS) was born on 24th of November 1960 at Buratai town in Biu Local Government Area of Borno State. He was enlisted into the Nigerian Army via the Nigerian Defense Academy on 3rd of January 1981 as a member of 29 Regular Combatant Course 29 (29 RC) where he obtained a National Certificate in Education (NCE). He became a Second Lieutenant on 17th of December 1983 after. By Nigeria’s Public Service Rule (2008:28-29), the compulsory retirement age for all grades in the service shall be 60 years or 35 years of pensionable service whichever is earlier. The Rule further states that no officer shall be allowed to remain in service after attaining the retirement age of 60 years of punishable service whichever is earlier and that provision of (i) and (ii) of the rule is without prejudice to prevailing requirements for judicial officers and academic staffs of universities who retire at 70 and 65 years respectively.

Going by this rule, Lt Gen Turkur Buratai ought to have retired on 3rd of January 2016 on completion of 35 years of service. Generally, the minimum age for enlisting into the Nigerian Armed Forces is put at 18 years old for voluntary service and at 60 years or after putting in 35 years of service according to the Federal Civil Service Rule. In other countries, such as the United States, military officers are expected to put a minimum of 20 years of service and a maximum of 30 years, according to the department of defense directive. An officer can be enlisted in the force at the age of 17. In Britain, officers are enlisted into the force at the age of 16 and are expected to put in at least 18 years of service. In Africa, Ghana enlists officers at the age of 18 and retires officers at 50 years while in South Africa, officers stay in active service until they are 60 years and could be enlisted at the age of 18 (Source: Vanguard, December 28, 2012).

However, there is the Harmonized Terms and Condition of Services Officers (HTACOS), 2012 (Revised). HTACOS was intended to make retirement age in the military (army, navy and air force) different from other personnel or public servants of the Federal Government. The HTACOS was also meant to scrap the years of service of 35 years of service and fully embraced the age on rank bracket. This means that as long as officers and men of the Nigerian military pass the necessary promotion board examinations, they would not be retired just because they have served 35 years. But that will now depend on their Run- Out -Date (ROD). But the HTACOS was further designed to start with the 36th Course (C36) and their equivalents and above. The 36th Course members were the first set to start full degree programs at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA). Before then, Courses 1 to 35 (including Lt Gen Buratai’s Course 29) studied and graduated with the National Certificate in Education (NCE) from the NDA. This means that while Course 36 and above will benefit from all the provisions of the HTACOS, their seniors, Courses 1 to 35, will not have the full benefits. Course 17 is the oldest still in service (source: Guardian, October 8, 2012).

From the foregoing analysis, Lt Gen Turkur Buratai having been excluded from HTACOS of 2012 on account of his belonging to Course 29 of NDA; ought to have been retired statutorily since 3rd of January 2016 after attaining the mandatory 35 years of service in the Nigerian Army having been enlisted into the Nigerian Army as a cadet officer on 3rd of January 1981. We are fully aware that the Buhari administration’s affront to rule of law and due process has risen to an apogee and may most likely continue in the case of the COAS; by retaining him against the laws of the land as he has always done. But we want to put it on record and consciousness of all Nigerians and members of the international community and Lt Gen Turkur Buratai himself that the end of his dark era is speedily nearing when he will inescapably answer for his “regime atrocities” (killing of 705 Shiite and over 80 IPOB activists, among others, in conjunction with retiring IGP Solomon Arase). That is to say that someday soonest, he will hang his khaki and join the civil populace.

It is true that the Federation of Nigeria is still paying billions of naira compensations from international court verdicts for Obasanjo’s atrocities in Odi and Zakibiam in early 2000s, but himself and those he ordered to commit such crimes against humanity somehow walk freely till date because some international mechanisms now in place such as ICC and UN special crimes courts were yet to be in force them. The ICC Statute, for instance, came into force 1st July 2002; two years after the Odi and Zakibiam massacres and it does not have retroactive criminal jurisdictions. The worst retirement life is that under which the retiree cocoons himself or herself and sneaks in and out of countries and places where he or she visits because of monumental “regime atrocities” committed while in office. Regional and international fugitiveness or criminal indictment or pursuit to account for atrocity crimes is worse than criminal conviction and sentencing. The fate of the likes of Omar Hassan El-Bashir of Sudan and his atrocious “supporter of APC” commander (Sheik Musa Hilal) in Darfur and his Minister in charge of Humanitarian Affairs & Darfur (Ahmad Muhammad Harun) is a clear case in point.

By Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chairman International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law

http://en.abna24.com/cultural/archive/2016/03/26/743207/story.html

Tolexander:
Sheik Ibrahim Zakzaky is dead!

He didn't survive the mortal attack on him.
If the death of Zakzaky is announced, definitely a problem will arise

If he is dead, then what of his wife? Where is she?

Where is Sheikh Zakzaky?

Friday, 25 March 2016

13:28

By Mahdi Garba

It is no more a stale news that; for the past 3 months, leader of the Islamic movement in Nigeria his eminence Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky has been kept incommunicado after (the Nigeria Army) killing over 700 (of his supporters), which 3 among were his biological children.
The pretext of this unprecedented attack was a purported attack on the Chief of Army staff, Lt. Gen Tukur Yusuf Buratai, which sounded
illogical. The alleged 'attack' on the COAS is a disgrace to the Nigeria security and more of showcasing their ineptitude.

It still perplexes one to learn that the well-armed Nigerian military on a killing spree attacked a peaceful gathering of law abiding citizens (at the Husseiniyah, away from the road incident site)
and later proceeded to the residence of Sheikh Zakzaky in Gyellesu, Zaria.

Since during the invasion of 12-14 December, 2015 the whereabout of Sheikh Zakzaky and his wife Malama Zeenah is best known to the
clueless Nigeria president, knuckle-head COAS and the hypocritical Nasiru El-Rufai who founded the Judicial Commission of Inquiry which
was brimful of staunch Salafi-Wahabi evangelists and supporters.

From inception, with people like Salisu Shehu, Salihu Abubakar, Auwal Yadudu and Umar Labdo, the Judicial Commission of Inquiry is
verisimilitude of a commission of indictment, not inquiry. All this aforemententioned people are well known anti-Shia 'clerics' whom for
about two decades have been enticing scoundrels and government officials to attack the movement and her leader, Sheikh Zakzaky.

Since the inauguration of the KSDG's Kangaroo committee, there are tremendous efforts by the guild of solicitors defending the Islamic
Movement to see Sheikh Zakzaky but all abortive.

The most pertinent questions men of consceince across the globe are still asking is; "Where is Sheikh Zakzaky? Why is his right as a
Nigerian citizen trampled on? Where is Malama Zeenah? What was the crime of her 3 children killed before her eyes? Where are the missing
700+?

Certainly, these are questions the Nigerian government must answer to satisfy our fastidiousness!

Source:

http://islamicmovement.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2560:where-is-sheikh-zakzaky&catid=41:frontpage

mrnuur:
Op don't be this naive go back and read Zakkazy's history and have a rethink

Enlighten us about his history. Has he ever killed anyone. Why do Sunnis like pointing fingers at others when there's nothing you will say that you haven't done worse. You're pointing finger at a man who has been oppressed and persecuted by successive Sunni tyrants and has lost six sons unjustly.

PDP and the South’s Hope for the 2019 Presidential Election: Sheikh Ibrahim al-Zakzaky for President!


Opinion Column


By: Mehdi Garba Shehu


With the current onslaught of the fight against corruption by the current dispensation of the Muhammadu Buhari led APC government, many are of the opinion that the fight against corruption is politicized and targeting mainly, or even only opposition politicians. It appears as if there are no corrupt politicians under the APC, even though a chunk of them were formerly part and parcel of the ruling PDP between 1999-2015. By the current shape of the PDP and the atmosphere of the polity in Nigeria, one would have no choice but to pity the PDP and its figures. If such onslaught were to be sustained as it appears based on observation, the party may well be forced to change its name or file for political bankruptcy and possibly even disappear from the political scene in the country come 2019. Its image has already being rubbished through the arrests of its figures who are have been given the corruption crown. At such a scenario of a dying party, staunch PDP states, especially of the South East and South South zones would be left exposed to the silent but edible political coercion of the APC and that would translate that they decamp to and become orphans adopted by the APC.


With current the dire economic situation in the country with almost a year after the transition from PDP to APC rule, most people can count nothing as achievements of the new president than his self-acclaimed fight against corruption, however shady and suspicious the fight maybe viewed by some or many. Incessant fuel queues continue to appear, and high foreign exchange rates, power outage, high rate of inflation, and unemployment persist. It has come to the point whereby Nigerians are questioning the change slogan that swept the Buhari led APC into power last year, with some referring to the change as scam, or chain (in the sense of a political and economic transition into bondage). The slogan of “Sai Baba” has transformed into “Chai Baba” just within a year!


Undoubtedly, the weaknesses and excesses of the Jonathan led administration played the biggest part in securing the victory of an aged, primitive and lost soldier in civilian clothing (more or less like a wolf in sheep’s clothing) into the presidential villa in 2015. Aside from the poor economic showing under the APC, there are also the government sanctioned killings of civilians both in the North and the South, and also the disrespect for the rule of law and the judiciary. Nigerians belonging to minority tribal and religious leanings continue to be heavy-handedly persecuted and indiscriminately killed, and jailed without bail or charge indefinitely.


With the current show of force, and the disregard for democratic processes whereby a sitting president has no shame to declare that he cannot grant bail to a political dissident using the words “I cannot”-as if he were a judge sitting in a court of law- and taking the rule of law away from the courts, Nigerians have a lot to worry about; politically, economically and security wise. There is a wolf in sheep clothing ruling the country. In fact, a lost wolf ready to devour both the rights of Nigerians, and the Nigerian citizens themselves! Congratulations “Sai Baba” chanters, you are official in the bondage you voted for and the change you asked for, even though the cluelessness of the Jonathan administration was by no measure a better option, but only less deadly and shameless as to when the rights of the people are trampled upon.


With no formidable opposition party at the moment, Nigeria more or less appears to be heading to a one party system in the next presidential election. Political parties that are smaller than the main opposition party, the PDP, would be picnic for the APC. The only option remains for the PDP to endure and remain intact and look for a credible presidential candidate to fly its ticket in the next election: a patriotic figure of integrity that can be trusted by the nation for being incorruptible and one with presidential posture to assume leadership to respect the rights of minorities and every Nigerian.


Going by the politics in the Middle East where Muslims are increasingly divided along sectarian/religious lines, the Christians have no better political allies than the Shia (Shi’ite) Muslims as can be viewed in the Middle East.


After the Zaria massacre that resulted in the killings of hundreds of harmless civilians both on the highway where a confrontation with the army appeared, and off the highway (in the house of the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, the Shia worship center (Husseiniyyah), and the movement’s cemetery which were also illegally demolished by soldiers) where soldiers stormed in madness to sniff out the life of every innocent Nigerian Shi’ite soul in a brutal show of force and complete disregard for human life to give the Wolf of Aso Rock his well deserved title of being a blood thirsty tyrant and to send the message into the air that a “tough” deadly soldier is in power, three months and counting, hundreds killed are yet to be properly buried (said to have been buried in mass graves by soldiers to hide crimes against humanity), hundreds arrested and imprisoned are yet to be charged or granted bail, and hundreds missing are yet to be found.


From the case Lebanon,a Middle Eastern country that is multi-religious, the Shia Islamic Resistance Movement Hezbollah happens to be the ally of the largest Lebanese Christian party, the Free Patriotic Movement led by a Christian former Lebanese Army chief General Michel Aoun, in the Lebanese parliament. Hezbollah has also gone ahead to stand out as a (Shi’ite) Muslim group against the rampaging Wahhabi terrorists such as ISIS and Al-Qaeda affiliated al-Nusra Front in neighboring Syria, and Hezbollah fights alongside the Syrian Arab Army in support of the legitimate authority of Syria and President Bashar al-Assad. Much alike, the Islamic Movement in Nigeria has literally saved the lives of hundreds of Christians, in particular during the 2011 post election violence, when Buhari’s rampaging hordes of Salafist/Wahhabi bloodsucking supporters were shedding the blood of innocent Christians in the North who had no relations whatsoever to Goodluck Jonathan, and at best, they could have only practiced their democratic rights by voting for their candidate of choice.


Gyellesu in Zaria, the headquarters of the Shi’ite Islamic Movement in Nigeria was safe haven for fleeing Christians, especially Igbos. The youth scouts of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria stood ground to protect the fleeing souls who wanted safe shelter until the storm of political violence and religious madness had subsided.






A Shi’te Hezbollah fighter saluting a statue of Christ in Syria’s Qalamoun region after liberating its from Wahhabi/Salafist terrorists.


For the 2019 presidential elections, Sheikh Ibrahim al-Zakzaky should be approached by the PDP to rescue the party and accept the party nomination to bear its flag against the APC candidate, who would most likely be the incumbent president. Such a move will have deep and wide ramifications in the politics of Nigeria and it will be a historical point whereby more tolerant of Christians/Non-Muslimsand accommodating Muslims, i.e. the Shi’ites, will form an unbroken political alliance with the Southern Christians. This alliance will go a very long way to shape the political landscape in the country and bury the northern “born to rule” mentality espoused by Sunni Muslims. The Shi’ites are very much opposed to the monarchy system, and therefore the “born to rule” mentality by any emir or sultan is very much against Shi’ite doctrine of equality among the human race.


Many would want to know the feasibility of filing Sheikh Ibrahim al-Zakzaky as the presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2019 presidential election. When it comes to the numbers, the Islamic Movement in Nigeria has followers, mainly in the North, estimated to be a minimum of 5 to 10 million, and a maximum of 15 to 25 million. A Christian-Shi’ite Muslim political alliance in elections would means winning over the born to rule mentality, and breaking the votes in the north. Significantly, the South West will no longer have the sole power as the tie breaker. It will strike an electoral balance that can pacify the North for many years to come.


The Islamic Movement in Nigeria has so far stirred clear of Nigerian politics and chose to be solely a religious and social movement. The movement’s leadership also dissuades its followers from voting or taking part in elections as they view most politicians as corrupt and untrustworthy. If this does change and the movement chooses to use its popular weight in politics after the unjust killings it has suffered for being a minority religious group, then a large chunk of northern votes would be guaranteed for the PDP or any opposition supported by the Islamic Movement in Nigeria.


Currently, three months after the Zaria Massacre, al-Zakzaky remains in custody along with his wife, both of whom were said to have been shot multiple times by rampaging soldiers, without bail, and without charge and that means extra-judicially. Obviously, the APC government is lost in finding a solution or way out to its crimes as the plethora of claims thrown at the Islamic Movement in Nigeria right from the road block shooting by soldiers at exuberant and angry protesting youths to the aftermath of the onslaught at the Husseiniyah and the cleric’s house can best be described as lame and unjustified in the face of the wanton killings of innocent Nigerian Shi’ite Muslims in the aftermath of the roadblock that ensued in a religious center and at private properties. The image of a bloodied al-Zakzaky loaded into a wheelbarrow by soldiers remains fresh in the memory of those who followed the news of the Zaria Massacre that lasted between the 12th to the 14th of December, 2015, and which also claimed the lives of three biological sons of the cleric, making in total six sons that al-Zakzaky has lost to rampaging beasts in military uniform. Three sons were also killed in July 2014 during a traffic incident and right of passage altercation between soldiers and a religious procession of the IMN, and the then president, Goodluck Jonathan, was quick to personally call Zakzaky on phone and issue his apology for the loss of life of three biological sons of the cleric and 30 other members of the movement. That position and reaction of the then president can be contrasted with the reaction of the current president after a higher death toll and bigger destruction of properties.


A popular Zakzaky, whose restraint and patience in the face of losing six sons, and his insistence on non-violence preaching would be the best ally of northern extraction for the South to face the APC tyrant in the next presidential election. Zakzaky’s record of being incorruptible and a symbol of integrity are impeccable in Nigeria. Being from a Shi’ite background and holding on to Shi’ite doctrines which promotes and respects the freedom and right of belief for others based on Quranic verses (2:256; 18:28; 109:6) completely ignored by extremist Sunnis, particularly the Sunnis of the Wahhabi/Salafist ideology, Zakzaky would be the much wished for symbol for Christian-Islamic unity in Nigeria. After the Zaria Massacre, and the restraint and peaceful reaction of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, the popularity of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria and the personality of Zakzaky are on the rise. Reaching understanding with Zakzaky, who is destined to be released for his innocence and immense loss of the lives of his followers and family members, is the way out for the PDP in the 2019 presidential election. No matter what the naysayers do or how they react to this suggestion, the good thing is that any human being from any religious or political or ethnic background can reach an understanding with a Shi’ite Muslim, which is far from the case with a Wahhabi/Salafist devoid of reason or human sympathy.