NIGERIA'S Muslim body Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) has expressed concerns that the army is indiscriminately killing thousands of defenceless Muslims under the pretext of fighting Boko Haram terrorists across the country.
Since 2009, Boko Haram have been fighting a bloody war against the Nigerian state, killing about 18,000 innocent people in the process. In response the Nigerian Army has sometimes launched brutal reprisals, which have occasionally involved the killing of defenceless and innocent civilians too.
After a meeting in Kaduna yesterday, JNI, Nigeria's supreme Muslim body headed by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, raised the alarm about the number of casualties. JNI secretary-general Dr Khalid Aliyu, warned that Nigerian Muslims in some northern parts of the country were now considered an endangered species.
Expressing concern over the dimension of extra-judicial killing of Muslims in the country, Dr Aliyu also noted with sadness the incident of the Keana 15 in Nasarawa State in which innocent Muslims were mercilessly massacred. He added that the various cases of massacres of Muslims by the military in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states under the guise of fighting terrorism were unacceptable.
Dr Aliyu added: “The dimension of extrajudicial killing of Muslims by the military on unsubstantiated suspicion leaves much to be desired, which clearly depicts that Muslims have become an endangered species, murdered and maimed indiscriminately under the guise of fighting terrorism. We can say without any fear of contradiction that there is a grand agenda to destabilise the Muslim Ummah in Nigeria.
"If any Nigerian is in doubt regarding the hidden agenda to destabilise Muslims in Nigeria and cautiously reduce their rising human capital, then the Zamfara State incident should have removed this doubt. An event where vigilante personnel working to restore peace would be the subject of a grand massacre, tells much about the chaos and insecurity some enemies want to push our states into."
He called on Nigeria's governors, politicians and every well-meaning citizens to do something about the situation before it gets out of hand. Dr Aliyu asked where is the human rights compliance and rule of engagement by the military personnel involved in maintaining peace and security.
“The military should know that it is extremely dangerous to polarise security agencies along religious lines. It will have far-reaching negative effects on the country, especially at this material time, when the efforts of all are required to cushion the effect of the pains we are passing through.
“JNI unequivocally condemns the extrajudicial killing of 15 Fulani Muslims in Keana, the raping and subsequent killing of Binta Usman, the milk maid and all the human rights abuses on innocent Muslims in Maiduguri. We strongly call for the bringing to justice of the perpetrators of transgression against innocent citizens who have the right to practise the religion they choose,” Dr Aliyu added.
