In December, 2015, not less than 350 people were reportedly murdered in Zaria, Kaduna state. Over the years, there have been allegations of mass cover-up against the Nigerian military and masterminds of the killings dubbed ‘Zaria Massacre’ which lasted for two days following a free-for-all confrontation between soldiers and members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN).
A report by the Amnesty International has revealed how the Nigerian Military covered up facts that relate to the cause of the event.
Mass slaughter of hundreds of men, women and children by soldiers in Zaria and the attempted cover-up of this crime demonstrates an utter contempt for human life and accountability, said Amnesty International as it publishes evidence gathered on the ground revealing how the Nigerian military burned people alive, razed buildings and dumped victims’ bodies in mass graves.
The report which was published online on April 22, 2016, entilted ”Unearthing the truth: Unlawful killings and mass cover-up in Zaria, contains shocking eyewitness testimony of large-scale unlawful killings by the Nigerian military and exposes a crude attempt by the authorities to destroy and conceal 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,” said Netsanet Belay, Amnesty International’s Research and Advocacy Director for Africa.
“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.”
More than 350 people are believed to have been unlawfully killed by the military between 12 and 14 December, following a confrontation between members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) and soldiers in Zaria, Kaduna state. 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, an allegation that IMN members had denied multiple times.
