On August
22, 2020, on the orders of the governor
of the State of Kaduna, the police attacked a Muharram mourning ceremony in the
city of Kaduna, killing at least three people in a brutal attack and injuring
many others who are now reported to be in critical condition!
Moreover,
yesterday and following the end of the Muharram ceremony of Imam Hussein, on
the orders of the governor of Kaduna State with the support of some thugs and
the police, they raided the houses of Shiites to arrest them and, like the
Yazidi army on the eve of Ashura, set fire to several houses of Allamah Seyyed
Zakzaki's supporters.
Thus far, it
has been reported that a number of houses have been burnt down and several
people have been reported to be seriously injured.
One of the
outrageous claims that is put forth to justify the killing of all these
innocent Muslims is that they are opposed to the Government of Nigeria. The
fact of the matter, however, is that in every country there are always people
who oppose the government, but in no country can mere opposition to the
government provide a basis for brutality against said people, let alone the
ruthless killing thereof.
Another key
point to keep in mind is that Nigeria is one of the most well-respected African
countries in the world where, just like any great nation, Shiite Muslim are
free to hold mourning ceremonies in any of the country's states. Apparently, it
is only in the State of Kaduna, governed by Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai, where such
unforgivable acts of cruelty take place.
A recent
wave of deadly attacks in the southern part of Nigeria’s restive Kaduna State
has brought the seemingly never-ending cycle of communal violence and impunity
in the state back into focus. The media reported that gunmen killed at least 43
people between July 21 to 24 and that 178 people were killed in the past 7
months across southern Kaduna communities.
The police
haven’t commented on the identity of the perpetrators or the motivations behind
the attacks. The state governor claimed the recent attacks were carried out by
armed bandits terrorizing Nigeria’s northwest states, but media reports
included witnesses attributing blame to a militia targeting southern Kaduna
communities on ethnic grounds.
Kaduna State
straddles the country’s ethnic and religious divide. Northern Kaduna’s
population is largely Muslim and Hausa-Fulani, while southern Kaduna is
predominantly Christian and home to some 30 ethnic groups. Relations between
the Hausa-Fulani and communities in southern Kaduna have long been tense,
stemming predominantly from competition over resources, including land, and
political control. These tensions have often led to deadly ethnic violence.
