By Alex Ekemenah
Chief Analyst, NEXTMONEY
The spiritual leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, has been in detention since 2015, sparking protests that have sometimes been violent [BBC]
A howling wave of Shiite rebellion hangs in the air.
The Shiite rebellion came into prominence in December 2015 (on December 12, 2015 to be precise) when members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria numbering thousands audaciously or foolhardily blocked the convoy of the Nigerian Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, enroute Zaria, the very headquarters of the Islamic Movement.
The encounter led to a bloodbath in which over a thousand members were shot dead like rats by soldiers, including one of the sons of the spiritual leader of the movement, Sheik Ibrahim El-Zackzaky. One of his wives was also reportedly brutalized by the enraged soldiers.
Sheik El-Zackzaky was subsequently arrested and detained since then, without formal charges and trial of any sort.
All pleas to the Federal Government to release El-Zackzaky fell on deaf ears. It appears the religious group has bitten more than it can chew, even for the government of Muhammadu Buhari.
The strategic issues at stake are not known. Even when the Islamic Republic of Iran tried to meddle in the ensuing conflict, Buhari administration shunned the effort and told Iran to mind her own business!
We may never know the actionable intelligence/security report upon which El-Zackzaky was detained indefinitely. All we know was the chain reaction starting with the blockade of the convoy of the COAS. It was provocative situation analogous to dog entering the tiger’s lair. The result is predictable enough.
Since then, one can feel the earth tremor, with the ground trembling from time to time. People are very fearful that an earthquake may happen any time. It is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode at any time. But the atmosphere is subdued.
Boko Haram insurgency is more than enough. A Shiite-led insurgency is unthinkable.
Tempers are however now flaring and one can see clearly the rigid positions of both sides of the divides with no one willing to concede or compromise. Shiite movement is a keg of gunpowder waiting to explode if not carefully managed.
The guns are being cocked!
So what really is the trouble between this sectarian group and the Nigerian State/Buhari administration that no one is ready to concede an inch to each other in dialogue and/or peaceful resolution of the conflict? It must really be something very serious, very fundamental indeed that touches the core ideology of both sides.
El-Zackzaky has since become a prisoner of conscience and symbol of the “struggle” by members of the group against the Nigerian State. His case is constantly in the media space as his followers relentlessly campaign for his release from detention by Buhari’s men.
But Buhari’s men would not budge as they stubbornly and steadfastly held on to him.
National (and international) security landscape has witnessed a dramatic paradigmatic shift and change in the 21st century. As a result, there is almost complete disappearance of distinction between foreign and domestic threat spectrum. Also there is increasing integration of law enforcement at all levels of governance leading to single national security framework.
However, evidence suggests that Nigeria was not adequately prepared for the 21st century. There was no evidence of national security assessment and intelligence estimate across the broad spectrum of political, economic and social environment especially religious and cultural differences among the geopolitical blocs in the country. This is more pronounced in the Northern part of the country where the ground is craggy and uneven along religious denominational differences.
While Nigeria has its national security governance structure, there were no SWOT and VUCA assessments as she transited from military to civilian rule at the tail-end of the 20th century.
This was how the country was presented with plethora of combustible security challenges. Flash points emerged from all geopolitical zones of the country such as Niger Delta militancy, MASSOB/IPOB in the East, Boko Haram in the North east, Fulani herdsmen in the North; and all sorts of hybrid incendiaries elsewhere.
Now, Shiite rebellion has entered the list.
Thus what happened at the National Assembly complex on July 9 became a signal-off of this emerging rebellion. Shiite members in their hundreds invaded the National Assembly to demand for the release of their leader, El-Zackzaky. As a result, a policeman was reportedly shot dead with many others wounded. It was a baptism of fire for the newly inaugurated 9th National Assembly.
It was ides of Thermidore!
About forty protesters were reportedly arrested as a result of the invasion or protest.
In a press statement signed by the spokesperson of the Abuja Police Command, Anjuguri Manzah, the protesters shot two police officers and injured six others in their attempt to forcefully invade the National Assembly. “The group which started its activity, camouflaged in a peaceful procession became violent and were trying to force their way into the National Assembly.
“Police operatives on the ground, however, acted proactively, professionally and used minimum force to disperse the unruly protesters.
“Members of the sect during the violent protest shot two police personnel on the leg, while clubs and stones were used to inflict injuries on six other policemen,” he said.
“Those arrested in the process will be dealt with in accordance with the appropriate law of the land,” he said.
But a spokesman for the Shiite group, Abdullahi Musa, said they never fired at the policemen, and that the officers were hit only when the Police fired at them. He equally claimed that two Shiite protesters were killed during the Police crackdown, but that it won’t dampen their resolve to return for another protest the following day.
Even though a Federal High Court ordered his release in December 2016, the Department of State Security (DSS) continued to detain El-Zakzaky.
In May 2018, he was eventually arraigned before a Kaduna High Court and charged with unlawful gathering, criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide. The court denied him bail.
El-Zakzaky’s continued detention has led to allegations of persecution by members of his sect who have taken to the streets several times in protest, leading to clashes with authorities, most notably the Nigerian Army.
400 IMN members were arrested by the Police for disturbance of public peace and law and order in Abuja on October 30, 2018. They were alleged to have set a Police vehicle on fire, and arrested with 31 bottles of petrol bombs and other dangerous weapons.
A previous clash on October 27, where the Army accused Shiite protesters of attacking a convoy carrying ammunition, resulted in the death of three people, with a couple of soldiers also wounded.
The protesters returned on October 29 and got involved in another clash with the Army and the Police. While the Army reported that another three Shiites were killed, the Shia sect claimed around 50 were killed by soldiers.
Now another protest by members of the sect has turned violent against on July 22, 2019.
Social media was agog with video clips of the protest and sporadic gunshots mostly by law enforcement agents could be heard.
A deputy police commissioner was shot dead.
Sources alleged that the Shiites threw petrol bombs as part of the protest.
The protest, which began from NITEL junction at Wuse 2, was disrupted by armed policemen who had cordoned off the road leading to the National Assembly and three arms zone.
Many people were injured in the violent clash.
A journalist with Channels TV was among the casualties as he was shot and rushed to the hospital.
Live ammunition was fired at the protesters as they advanced toward the Eagle Square leading to commotion and pandemonium in the area.
Looking closely at this unfolding scenario and pattern of violent clashes between the sect members and law enforcement agents, tt was very clear to security watchers and analysts that another trouble is looming on the horizon.
Who are Shiites?
Shiite Islam was “almost unknown” in Nigeria until the 1980s, when Ibrahim Zackzaky introduced it. It is mainly based in Kaduna State with Zaria as its headquarters. The movement conducts most of its spiritual activities in Husainiyya Baqiyatullah, located in Zaria.
Zakzaky largely succeeded with those disenchanted with the political and religious establishment.
The movement started with a Shiite Muslim university activist, Ibrahim El-Zackzaky, who is said to have become so impressed and infatuated with the 1979 Iranian Revolution that overthrew Shah Reza Pahlavi and wanted to duplicate this in Nigeria.
Later Zakzaky was reported to have gone to Iran, ultimately becoming a Shia cleric. What he did, whom he met there are never really known.
He came back as the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria turning it to a kind of special purpose vehicle for proselytizing and gaining followers in the 1990s. His movement gained momentum as many turned to him in a country once dominated by Sunni Muslim population.
Members of the community have been at loggerheads with the Nigerian State since then with increasing hostilities over the years with encounters with rival sects and the law enforcement agents created violent clashes.
Researchers have revealed that Saudi Arabia’s linked Sunni politicians, organizations and Nigerian security apparatus are behind the persecution and harassment of Shiite Muslims in Nigeria. It was a collision of two opposite sectarian worldviews.
The Salafist movement Izala Society is close to both Riyadh and Abuja and its satellite television channel Manara often broadcasts anti-Shiite sectarian propaganda.
For instance, Sokoto State Government has reacted to the increasing influence of the Shiite Islam in the state by taking such measures as demolishing the Islamic Center in 2007. Furthermore, clashes between Sunni and Shia residents followed the assassination of Salafi Iman, Imam Umaru Danmaishiyya, well known for his fiery anti-Shiite preaching.
In 2014, the Zaria Quds Day Massacre took place, leaving 35 dead.
On December 12, 2015, another massacre took place in Zaria in hundreds of members were killed by soldiers escorting the convoy of the Nigerian Chief of Army Staff to a function in Zaria.
In April 2018, clashes broke out as Nigerian police fired teargas at Shiite protesters who were demanding the release their leader. Further, Nigerian police detained at least 115 protesters.
In October 2018, Nigerian military killed at least 45 peaceful Shiite protesters.
A presidential spokesperson said el-Zakzaky, who has been at loggerheads with Nigeria’s Sunni-led government at state and federal levels for years, was being held “for his own good”.
The new wave of protests have also spread to the commercial capital of Lagos where, for instance inscriptions “free zackzaky” can be on walls at Maryland-Yaba expressway.
According to globalsecurity.org, “Two of the oldest Islamist movements in northern Nigeria receive outside support. The Jama’atul Izalatul Bid’ah Wa’Ikhamatul Sunnah (Izala), a Sunni organization founded by the anti-colonial critic Sheikh Abubakar Gummi, received financial aid from Sunni organizations in Saudi Arabia. Likewise, the Shia organization, the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), founded by Malam Ibrahim al-Zakzaky, received support from Iran. These Nigerian organizations utilize this external funding as a means to recruit people to their cause and undermine the authority of the government by highlighting the government’s failure to maintain public social services.
“Islamic reformist organizations in Nigeria, which compete with each other for influence to interpret religion and politics in the Muslim community, have been a fixture in the North for several decades. Earlier traditions of reform were often prepared to cooperate, at least in circumscribed terms, with the government and with other Islamic reformist elements in society. However, recent Islamic reformist groups emphasize the importance of struggling against the government, and condemning it for corruption, immorality, or for failure to respond to the needs of its citizens. These reformist groups also reproach other Islamic organizations which work with the government.
“The Muslim Brotherhood formally transmuted into the IMN, in part, to reflect its “Shi’ite” orientation. However, while the leadership of the IMN appears committed to the doctrines of Shi’ism, the majority of its followers are not. In fact, it remains unclear to what extent it is appropriate to term the IMN a bonafide “Shi’ite” movement.
“The radical Islamic preacher Ibrahim El-Zakzaky led a mass movement based in Zaria that was widely regarded (feared) as Nigeria’s most influential Islamists. If radicalism emerged in Nigeria, a focal point would be Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, a long-time center of Islamic activism. Zaria based Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, leader of Nigeria’s Muslim Brothers, relished being known as a militant and would be a likely candidate to push Nigerian Muslims toward radicalism.
“Ibrahim Yakub El Zakzaky initially advanced slogans like “Islamic revolution”, “establishment of Islamic state”, “total change”, etc. His group initially tagging themselves as Muslim Brothers (meaning, of course, that other Muslims are not their brothers) organized lectures and several demonstrations during the first phase.
“During the Cold War, al-Zakzaky was known for preaching Islam as an alternative model to socialism and capitalism and leading rallies where followers burned Nigeria’s constitution to protest secularism and supported Iran’s Islamic revolution in 1979. In the 1980s, El Zakzaky told everyone he did not belong to the Shi’a, his group was not out to promote Shi’a Islam, and what they wanted was pure Islam and nothing else. Shi’a may engage in taqiyya, a kind of hypocrisy allowed in their religion when a person can pretend to be what they’re not in order to achieve a goal. Between periods of imprisonment in the mid-1980s, al-Zakzaky converted to Shi`a Islam.
Somewhere along the way over his 25 years of activism he picked up both Iranian funding and Shia theology; it is unclear which came first. From 1999, however, Zakzaky started losing the political edge to groups favoring imposition of Sharia as criminal law in Nigeria’s northern states, led by Ahmed Sani, (former) governor of Zamfara State, and others. Zakzaky seemed to fade into the background.
Many Northern states adopted versions of expanded Shari’a law in the two years since 1999. While this movement was based on local considerations, it was also, in part, a rejection of a dysfunctional secular legal system. The personal physician to Governor Sani, Dr. Bello Buzu, amputated the hand of convicted bicycle thief Lawal Isa on 03 May 2001. Isa had been convicted of stealing three bicycles by the Upper Sharia Court in the Gummi Local Government Area of rural Zamfara State on July 7, 2000. The timing of this amputation may not have been co-incidental. It was performed four days after Muslim fundamentalist Ibrahim Zakzaky publicly described Sharia in Zamfara as being a sham.
The Federal Government continued in 2001 to settle property claims by Muslim Brotherhood leader Ibrahim El-Zakzaky for compensation for his home and mosque, which were razed by law enforcement in 1997. All 96 of the Muslim Brotherhood followers jailed under the previous regime were released during 2001.
Both Zakzaky and his movement lost support because of his opposition to the adoption of “partial” Shari’a law under a secular government. Muslims expressed concern and mistrust for Ibrahim Zakzaky. They warn that while he stopped short of preaching that violence against Americans is justified by Islam, some of his followers may be more radical.
Bloody “religious” fights stemming from socio-economic competition are commonplace in Nigeria, as are aspiring politicos egging on such conflicts for their own political gain. The Shia seemed to be making inroads into the ranks of artisans, students and other less-privileged in the society, capitalizing on widespread alienation from northern Nigeria’s dysfunctional society. Zakzaky’s followers’ expressions of contempt for the local establishment were therefore quite appealing to these categories of people, who were also a bedrock of support for the city’s traditional Muslim rulers like the Sultan.
Clashes between Sunni and Shia Muslims historically have occurred for political reasons, as the latter views perceived excesses of institutions such as the sultanate, the emirates, and other mainstream Islamic institutions and their leaders as “un-Islamic” or too closely allied with secular government.
By 2008 intra-religious strife among Muslims in Nigeria was growing, as evidenced by several assassinations of Sunni imams, who had been critical of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), which was thought to be responsible for these murders. The perceived “Shi’ite” orientation of the IMN distinguished it from other Islamic reformist organizations in northern Nigeria, which are Sunni. However, these assassinations did not take place because of inherent doctrinal disagreements between Sunni imams and “Shi’ite” followers of the IMN. Rather, the IMN presumably went after these Islamic religious figures because they used the pulpit to undermine and discredit the IMN’s contention that the Nigerian government is corrupt and un-Islamic, and that Islamic leaders who work with the government are breaching the tenets of their faith.
Zakzaky reported the army killed dozens of his supporters and three of his sons 25 July 2014, during a religious procession. Zakzaky said the army targeted the annual Quds Day procession in Zaria, Kaduna State, while the army argued that it acted in self-defense after being shot at by IMN members. The army and the National Human Rights Commission said they had opened investigations into the killings.
There were multiple confirmed reports in 2014 that Boko Haram had targeted individuals and communities because of their religious beliefs, including Christians in remote areas of Borno and Yobe States. On November 3, a suicide bomber in Yobe State killed more than 20 Shia members of IMN participating in a procession commemorating Ashura.
Soldiers opened fire 12 December 2015 on Shia Muslims attending a ceremony in Hussainiyyah Baqeeyatullah, a religious center and funeral parlor in Zaria. The Shias had reportedly stopped the convoy of Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai as IMN leader al-Zakzaky was planning a speech in the religious center. The Nigerian military said one of its convoys was attacked by followers of Ibrahim Zakzaky, the leader of the IMN. “The sect numbering hundreds carrying dangerous weapons, barricaded the roads with bonfires, heavy stones and tyres,” an army statement said. “The troops responsible for the safety and security of the Chief of Army Staff, on hearing explosions and firing, were left with no choice than to defend him and the convoy at all cost.”
Following the incident, Nigerian forces raided the home of the top Shia cleric and arrested him after killing several of those protecting him, including one of the group’s senior leaders and its spokesman. Zakzaky was detained after being shot and injured by troops. The Islamic Movement of Nigeria confirmed that Zakzaky had been apprehended by government troops. Nigerian authorities accuse Zakzaky of trying to assassinate the Nigerian army chief, a charge that he vehemently rejected. Some reports had put the death toll of the attack at about 20 but the Islamic Movement of Nigeria said the army had killed hundreds of its members.
The movement, in a statement on 13 December 2015 by its spokesperson, Ibrahim Musa, said “About a thousand of members of the movement have been massacred at the moment as counting continues, but the soldiers are now busy evacuating the dead bodies to unknown destination…. We believe that the army is clearing the corpses to unknown locations for mass burials to cover up for its crime. We hereby demand unequivocally that they should release the corpses to us, so that we can give them a proper Islamic burial. The people they killed are not foreigners; they are citizens with their relatives known.”
Major General Adeniyi Oyebade saying, “I want to convey to you members of the press that the Shia leader al-Zakzaky is safe and in protective custody in a very secured facility. His wife is safe and also in protective custody. In the course of time he himself will be speaking to his members.” Ibrahim Musa, spokesman for the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, gave a different account, saying the group’s leader was injured in the attack and had been unable to leave his house “because of the gunshot wounds he sustained in the indiscriminate fire soldiers opened on the house and his followers who tried to protect it.”
The Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) condemned what it has described as “the massacre of ordinary civilians and key members of the Islamic Movement” which started on Saturday, 12 December 2015. It said at least 1,000 had so far been killed, countless have been injured and medical attention was being deliberately denied to the victims.
Nigerian government is responsible for the safety of prominent Nigerian Shia leader Sheikh Ibrahim al-Zakzaky, Supreme Leader’s Office said on 14 December 2015. Deputy Head of Supreme Leader’s Office for International Affairs Hojjatoleslam Mohsen Qomi made the remarks while touring the Islamic Republic News Agency. He expressed concern about whereabouts of Nigerian religious leader al-Zakzaky. He said that the Nigerian government should not let the current critical situation to get worse. ‘Regretfully, in recent days we see a suspicious episode is taking place in Nigeria and the Israeli regime is likely to be clandestinely involved,’ he said.
Iran summoned the Nigerian Charge d’Affaires in Tehran to protest against deadly clashes between Shia Muslims in the country’s north and the army. Iran’s foreign ministry called the violence between the military and followers of the Shia Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) “unacceptable”,
The Shi’a organizes an annual pilgrimage to Zaria, El Zakzaky’s base. They trek in large groups from certain points to meet their leader. While trekking, they block major highways and create a lot of trouble for travelers, and security agents turn a blind eye to it. (Follow the link at https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/imn.htm)