Hawzah News Agency (Washington, US) - Government of the United States of America has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to implement the Kaduna State government White Paper on the Zaria massacre and ensure soldiers that killed Shia member are punished.

The US administration urged the Nigerian government to respect the fundamental rights of the leader of the Shia sect, Ibrahim Zakzaky and release him from detention in compliance with Court orders. Reacting to the recommendations of the Kaduna State government White Paper on last year’s killings of the Shia in Zaria, Kaduna state, the United States declared that it is support of the White Paper.

John Kirby, the US assistant secretary of state and spokesperson of the bureau of public affairs said: “On Dec. 5th, the Kaduna State Government in Nigeria issued a long-awaited White Paper on clashes last year that resulted in the deaths of a reported 348 civilians and one soldier. “We fully agree with the White Paper’s recommendation that members of the military who were involved in the unlawful killing of civilians must be held accountable and punished appropriately.”

IMN is not a body, it is a phenomenon

Addressing journalists yesterday, Head of Shuhadah Foundation of IMN, Sheikh AbdulHamid Bello said that the State government ignored 99 percent of the recommendations of the inquiry, and recognised only the ones that called for the restriction of IMN.

Asked if IMN is a registered organisation, Sheikh Bello said all organizations under IMN are registered, adding that, “IMN is not a body, it is a phenomenon, it is not an organisation, it is like Islam and Christianity, can you register Islam, can you register Christianity? So all organisations under IMN are registered.”

He further explained that; “from our preliminary analysis of the so called retroactive White paper, the Kaduna state government rejected 99% of the core recommendations of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry and only accepted the ones that suggested the unconstitutionally restriction of the activities of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria and the continuation of hostile activities towards its properties.

Other grounds on which the IMN rejected the document, according to Bello, is that “it is clear to us the governor of Kaduna State is a threat to national security and the peace and stability of Kaduna State and Nigeria.

“We are convinced that the governor of Kaduna State is bent on creating an atmosphere of fear, anxiety and violence in Kaduna State for reasons that are unclear through his approach to governance.”

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