Shi'ites release names of members killed
A representative of the group sent the list to PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday, describing the Nigerian Army as ‘murderous’ and demanding international pressure on the Nigerian government to investigate and punish those found culpable.
The latest victim identified by the group is Imrana Abdullahi. He reportedly died at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital on Saturday.
The protests occurred on October 27, 29 and 30 around Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
The October 27 protest took place in Zuba, a suburb of the capital city, in the afternoon. The IMN said at least six of its members were killed in the protest, and videos circulated online showed soldiers opening fire on civilians who were hiding inside open drainage channels to avoid being hurt after violence broke out.
The Nigerian Army admitted shooting three protesters to death, but said it was after they attempted hijacking a heavy duty truck conveying military equipment. It claimed soldiers sustained bruises during the encounter.
On October 29, soldiers again encountered Shiite protesters in Mararaba-Old Karu, just southeast of Abuja. Like the Saturday’s protests, the IMN members were demanding the release of their leader, Ibrahim el-Zakzaky, who had been held for over two years in defiance of a court ruling for his unconditional release.
The soldiers opened live rounds in the protest late afternoon on Monday, killing over 30 civilians, comprising Shiite protesters and passersby who were caught in the crossfire. The IMN members were using the Monday rally to commemorate the death anniversary of Imam Hussein, a grandson of Prophet Muhammad, while also demanding immediate release of Mr el-Zakzaky.
Again, the Nigerian Army owned up to soldiers opening fire on the protesters, but said only three were killed because the protesters tried to overrun a military checkpoint. It also said the soldiers acted in self defence, publishing images of its personnel who were injured by stones allegedly thrown by the protesters.
The Army said the Shiites hurled Molotov cocktails at troops and police officers manning the security checkpoint near the overhead bridge in Karu, and uploaded pictures of wounded soldiers, catapults, stones and Dane guns allegedly recovered from the protesters.
PREMIUM TIMES confirmed at least 21 protesters were killed in the Monday incident, all hit by bullets witnesses said were fired by soldiers from a guntruck deployed to the scene. Their bodies were kept hidden from Nigerian authorities until their families started identifying them three days later for burial.
The bodies were preserved with blocks of ice, a practice the Shiites admitted was hazardous but necessary to document the evidence Nigerian Nigerian security agencies. They said soldiers and police would collect the bodies from them and deny it to the public in order to conceal evidence of the mass killings, which come nearly three years after hundreds of Shiites were killed by Nigerian soldiers in Zaria.
Several others who suffered serious degrees of injuries in the encounters over the past one week have been recuperating at different hospitals in Abuja and nearby towns.
The Amnesty International also said in its findings published Wednesday night that at least 45 protesters were killed by Nigerian soldiers in the three days of violence, including the 21 deaths earlier confirmed by PREMIUM TIMES.
The killings on October 30 occurred in Wuse 2, a commercial and residential neighbourhood at the heart of Abuja. At least five protesters were killed while commemorating Imam Hussein’s death and demanding release of Mr el-Zakzaky. The police said the protesters burnt their vans, and 400 arrests were made.
About 120 of those arrested were summarily arraigned on October 31 in Abuja, and a court granted them bails ranging from N50,000 to N500,000.
The excessive use of force Nigerian soldiers on the protesters has been widely condemned by rights organisations. Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have demanded a thorough investigation of the killings, for which they blamed Nigerian soldiers and described as “shocking” and “unconscionable”.
Below is a list of victims whose bodies the IMN said have been identified, their place of origin in parenthesis. The group said most of them have been buried in Zaria, Kaduna State, while family members took bodies of some of them. The list would be updated as more bodies yet to be buried are identified, the group said.
1. Abdulaziz Ibrahim (Maigana, Kaduna State)
2. Rabi’u Abdulwahab (Malumfashi, Katsina State)
3. Minka’ilu Shu’aibu (Kudan, Kaduna State)
4. Muhammad Hussain (Sokoto, Sokoto State)
5. Abdu Dijana (Suleja, Niger State)
6. Ukasha Dayyabu (Madalla, Niger State)
7. Faru’q Ahmad Garba
8. Sulaima SK
9. Muhammad Soje
1.) Fatima Yahaya Musa
11. Malam Abu Qasim (Gaji, Bauchi State)
12. Surajo Adam (Garu, Borno State)
13. Ja’afar Yusuf (Keffi, Nasarawa State)
14. Saeed Adamu (Awe, Nasarawa State)
16. Lawal Ibrahim (Tudun Baushe Maraban Kafanchan, Kaduna State)
17. Kamal Muhammad Haruna (Kaduna, Kaduna State)
18. Al-Kasim Minka’il
19. Huzaifa Musa
20. Abdulaziz Haruna (Bauchi, Bauchi State)
21. Muhammad Sani Awwal (Bauchi, Bauchi State)
22. Zangina Muhammad Garba (Bauchi, Bauchi State)
23. Isma’il Shu’aibu Alramma (Bauchi, Bauchi State)
24. Aliuu Munnir (Mutum Biyu, Taraba State)
25. Hamisu Muhammad (Zaria, Kaduna State)
26. Abbas Muhammad
27. Munnir Muhammad (Samaru Zaria, Kaduna State)
28. Sa’id Zubairu (Maraba Abuja, FCT)
29. Abdullahi Sabo Muhammad (Yauri, Kebbi State)
30. Umar Abdullahi
31. Mansur Lawal (Bauchi, Bauchi State)
32. Umar Abdullahi Dogon Haris (Adamawa State)
33. Abubakar Dadda’u (Gombe, Gombe State)
34. Imrana Abdullahi.
Comments
Post a Comment