Army/Shiites Clash: HURIWA Faults Amnesty International On Probe

Two civil society groups, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) and Association of African Writers on Human and Peoples Right (AFRIRIGHT) has faulted Amnesty International’s demand for probe of the number of casualties involved the recent Army/Shiites clash in Zaria, Kaduna State.

According to the group, a coalition of over 26 civil society groups, Nigerians and other organisations must exercise restraint and let the National Human Rights Commission probe panel and the Kaduna State judicial panel conclude their investigation before any further action is taken on the incident.

The Civil Society groups in a press statement issued in Abuja through its National Coordinator and Country Director Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director Miss Zainab Yusuf said accused the Kaduna State governor Malam Nassir El Ruffai exploiting the incident for political again.

It states, “El Ruffai is stoking the embers of hatred and incitement of gullible Nigerians against the Nigerian Army by juggling and bandying unsubstantiated and a politically inflated number of casualties of the Shiites/Army clash without any shred of scientifically provable evidence to back up such sensationally high number.

“We suspect that the jostling for who runs for presidency in 2019 general elections may be the ultimate reason for this sensationalism from the officials affiliated to the office of the Kaduna State governor who may have issued that figure before the Kaduna State judicial probe panel to rubbish any human rights record the current President may flaunt or advertise whether now or in the nearest future within and outside of our shores. The target is President Muhammadu Buhari.”

“Nigerians should disregard the hasty conclusions already drawn by the London based global rights forum- Amnesty International which had called for a probe on the high figure of casualties even when it is a known logical fact that both the panels set up on that sad  Shiites/Army clash are yet to wind up the exercises nor have they issued their respective reports of their investigative activities,” The group stated.

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