Violence in Zaria as soldiers ‘arrest’ Shi’ia leader
Normalcy is yet to return to Zaria in Kaduna state after Saturday’s clash between members of the Shi’ia sect and the Nigeria army.
The convoy of Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff, was allegedly attacked by Shiites on his way to the palace of the emir of Zazzau.
Sani Usman, spokesman of the army, described the attack as an attempt on the life of its number one officer, saying Buratai escaped unhurt after soldiers enforced “rules of engagement”.
Late Saturday, the army raided the house of Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, leader of the sect, and the Husainiyya headquarters of the Shi’ites.
A source told TheCable that El-Zakzaky might have been arrested by the military, while his followers have been engaging soldiers in a shootout.
“The entire headquarters of the sect was condoned by soldiers yesterday evening while sporadic shooting reportedly lasted throughout the night,” a source told TheCable.
“As I am talking to you, they are demolishing everything at the the headquarters of the Shiite. Every route leading to the area was condoned by armed soldiers last night. All roads passing through the area were blocked and no one was allowed in or out of the area.
“From MTD, through to Polo Club were blocked by armed soldiers, you cannot pass there to Samaru. Throughout the night, gunshots were heard around the resident of the leader of the sect. Residents of the area have been indoors since the soldiers condone the area.
“There are speculations that Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky was arrested, but we are yet to establish whether it is true.”
Ibrahim Usman, spokesman of the movement, could not be reached for comments, as he neither answered his call nor responded to text messages.
Usman has not also responded to TheCable’s text message, while Zubairu Abubakar, the police spokesman in Kaduna, declined to comment on the issue.
Your comment..Care must be taken because this is how Boko Haram palaver kickstarted and got out of hand.
Religion be it Islam or Christianity, both Buddhism and any other form of religion teaches and preaches peace, harmonious relationship between mankind. As far as i know, there is no religion that contradicts this principles most importantly, a religion ought to be a personal obedience between the creator and the creature, devoid of any compulsion and its simple, depending on how one takes it. why don’t we imbibe the teachings of those religion and respect each other’s faith for us to live in peace. One of the principles of Islamic teaching is no compulsion in religion, i.e you cannot forcibly impose your faith on anyone and respect for leaders and people in authority and human right is one of the principles of the religion.
Consequently, what happened in Zaria is a clear manifestation of the lack of knowledge of Islam and its variance in teachings and principles of Islam therefore it should be condemned by all Islamic faithful. in as much as they have the freedom to do what they are doing, the COAS also has his own freedom to associate and freedom of movement which was impeded by some misguided semi illiterate of the Islamic religion itself. Though it is regretful that people lost their lives, however the perpetrators and the sponsors must be brought to book no matter how highly placed they are.