Zaria Residents Applaud Army Over Action On Shiites, Calls For Their Ban

Residents of Zaria, Kaduna state on Saturday applauded the
military action against the Islamic Movement in Nigeria otherwise known as
Shi’ite. The feeling of the residents was made known by the spokesman of
affected Zaria Communities, Idris Mohammed-Baba.

He said, “We are happy over military action against Shiite’s
movement in Zaria because we have fresh air now blowing in our areas.”

Mohammed-Baba while addressing a news conference in Kaduna,
also called on the Federal Government to urgently ban the Sheikh Ibraheem
El-Zakzaky’s led Shiite movement in their communities.

But the sect on Saturday said the Nigerian Army’s claim that
they killed hundreds of their members based on ‘rules of engagement’, was a
mere ploy to cover up crime against the sect.

Ibrahim Musa, President of the Media Forum of the sect, said
the claim by the Army was a cheap way of misleading the public over the maximum
force adopted in killing the Shi’ite members in Zaria.

However, Mohammed-Baba said for over 20 years the Shi’ite
sect had unleashed untold hardship on their host communities.

According to him, the Shiites had held people in Zaria and
Sabon Gari Local Government areas of the state hostage with impunity and
running a parallel government in the country.

He said: “My experience with Shiite followers is disastrous
and terrible, at a point Shiite boys threatened to kill me. We are happy over
military action against Shiite’s movement in Zaria because we have fresh air
now blowing in our areas. Before now, we could not grant interview to the world
about Shiite’s activities, but now we are sleeping with our two eyes closed. As
a community, we wrote letters to the governments about ungodly activities of
Shiites but no single action was taken.”

He added, “Shiites killed many of our people who challenged
their activities. We buried them and we could not talk to the world because of
their threat. We were living like slaves in our own land which Shiite leader,
Sheikh El-Zakzaky came and met us.

“We residents of Gyallesu are calling on the Federal
government to ban Shi’ite movement in our community and Kaduna state as a
whole. Government should put a stop to their ungodly activities in our area.”

The group also made available documents dated 18th May, 2015
in which the Shiites declared some youths persona non grata.

But Musa, President of the Media Forum of the Islamic
movement, debunked claims by the Army that the Movement had ‘militant wing.”