Amnesty International has disclosed that Nigerians soldiers killed innocent students and burnt some members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, IMN, alive during a clash in December.
The Director of
Amnesty International research and advocacy for Africa, Netsanet Belay in a
report entitled, ‘Unearthing the truth: Unlawful killings and mass cover-up in
Zaria’ alleged that the military was trying to cover up its crimes of killing
no fewer than 350 people and concealing the evidence.
“The true horror of
what happened over those two days in Zaria is only now coming to light. Bodies
were left littered in the streets and piled outside the mortuary. Some of the
injured were burned alive.
“Our research, based
on witness testimonies and analysis of satellite images, has located one
possible mass grave. It is time now for the military to come clean and admit
where it secretly buried hundreds of bodies.
“IMN supporters, some
armed with batons, knives, and machetes – had refused to clear the road near
their headquarters, the Hussainiyya, for a military convoy to pass. The army
has claimed that IMN supporters attacked the convoy in an attempt to
assassinate the chief of army staff. IMN members deny this.
“Following an initial
confrontation the military surrounded other locations where IMN supporters had
gathered, notably at the residential compound of IMN leader Ibrahim Al-Zakzaky.
Some people were killed as a result of indiscriminate fire. Others appeared to
have been deliberately targeted.
“All available
information indicates that the deaths of protestors were the consequence of
excessive, and arguably, unnecessary use of force.”
The report also gave
an eyewitness account of how soldiers killed children during the clash.
The body quoted a 16-year-old
schoolgirl identified as Zainab as saying, “We were in our school uniforms. My
friend Nusaiba Abdullahi was shot in her forehead. We took her to a house where
they treated the injured but, before reaching the house, she already died.”
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