Nigerian Army Accused Of Desecrating Shia Graves (photo)

The Nigerian army has been accused of desecrating the graves of Islamic Movement members by a London based human rights group.

The Nigerian army attacked the movement in Zaria last month, shooting and arresting its leader Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky and his wife, and killing hundreds more in the crossfire.

El-Zakzaky is believed to still be in police custody. There are fears that the pair, along with other supporters of the movement who are also being held without charge, are being denied urgent medical treatment.

During the army assault, the leaders and institutions of the Islamic Movement were targeted. Sheikh Zakzaky’s personal residence in Zaria was destroyed, as was the Hussainiyyah Baqiyatullah which served as the movement’s center.

The army also destroyed the home housing the tomb of Sheikh Zakzaky’s mother.

Following the attack on the Islamic Movement, the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) also received photographs and testimonies of mass graves where the army is reported to have buried fatalities from the killing spree in Zaria.

The Islamic Movement has also accused soldiers involved in last month’s bloody attack of raping women and burning the corpses of those it had killed.

The IHRC has called on the Nigerian government to put an immediate stop to its actions against the Islamic Movement and allow access to all those detained by the army so that their condition and needs can be established.

IHRC chair Massoud Shadjareh said “The evidence is now very clear that graves have been destroyed and desecrated which raises question marks over the army’s claims that it was acting in self-defense.

“This is a deliberate act of destruction aimed at punishing the Islamic Movement by smashing up the graves of its members.

“This level of barbarism is expected of extreme terrorist groups like ISIL, not the armed forces of a supposedly democratic country.”

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