KADUNA, Africa (Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The Commissioner of Police, Kaduna Police Command,
Kaduna.
PETITION IN RESPECT OF VIOLENT ATTACKS AGAINST MEMBERS OF THE ISLAMIC MOVEMENT IN NIGERIA IN RIGASA BROUGHT PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF SECTIONS 214, 215(1)(b)&(4) OF THE 1999 CONSTITUTION, THE POLICE ACT, THE PENAL CODE LAW AND THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE
BACKGROUND
For the past twenty (20) years, members of the Islamic Movement under leadership of Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky had been peacefully conducting their Islamic activities in the Rigasa Juma’at Mosque without any cause for alarm. However, with the advent of new Mosque Committee led by one Sanusi Kunni since October 2010, there were turn of events and attempted hostilities against members of the Islamic Movement, otherwise known as Brothers.
On October 21, 2010 the newly constituted mosque committee singlehandedly wrote a statement banning all forms of preaching in the mosque, except by the committee. The committee under false pretext claimed that preaching in the mosque had become “rowdy”. It should however be re-stated that, the Brothers had been preaching in the mosque for the past twenty (20) years when no one else was preaching. The committee chairman lately started his own style of inciting preaching and character assassination of the Brothers.
This led to a reconciliatory meeting with all parties and stakeholders in attendance, including the District Head, DPO, etc. It was surprising that the meeting, instead of addressing the real issue at stake, as the committee wrote of the “rowdy” preaching in the mosque by individual and groups, the committee accused the Brothers of character assassination and blasphemous preaching. More surprising was the tacit support exhibited by the District Head, who deliberately refused to give the Brothers opportunity to defend themselves in the face of lack of substantive evidence against them. With no opportunity for self defence on the part of the Brothers, the meeting came to a hasty decision that all forms of preaching be suspended for three weeks. The Brothers abided by the decision.
After the expiration of the three- week deadline, there was no recall, no response. The Brothers therefore used the traditional Eid festival prayer to preach and send in the message demanding for continuation of the peace process that was earlier started. This was followed by annual Goron Sallah preaching close to the Rigasa mosque. This prompted a notice of several meetings that were never held under flimsy pretext. We realized the delay and extension were all deliberate attempt to stop Brothers from their religious activities and nothing else. We also realized that the meetings were fruitless, as Brothers’ views were neither respected nor listened to. During the meeting, the Brothers provided solutions of adjustments in time management and constant consultations, which they pledged to abide, but were not even looked into. The Brothers however, categorically made it known that to stop people from preaching was not a solution to the problem, because it had been going on peacefully in the last twenty years before the takeover of the present committee. They even asked: why is it becoming a problem now, with the advent of this committee?
To our amazement and disappointment, the mosque committee led by Sanusi Kunni started preaching in defiance to the suspension order, calling for the physical “uprooting” of the Brothers from the mosque. They brought dangerous weapons to the mosque and critically injured four brothers. This action prompted another meeting at the District Head’s office, who, without hearing from both parties and eye witnesses’ account, blamed the whole episode on the Brothers, unmindful of the statement by Sanusi Kunni that “they copied the dastardly action of the Izala to suppress the Brothers!”.
From then onward, it became glaring that the mosque committee and District Head were two of a kind, with the ill motive of forcefully banning Brothers from the Rigasa mosque.
We noted that the Fridays after the recession before what happened, the former DPO gave adequate security measures to prevent the mosque committee members from their ill- motive. Before another planned meeting of all stakeholders to finally resolve the crisis once and for all, the DPO was re-assigned and a new DPO took over, and before he could investigate the issue, they unleashed the terror. What happened on Friday, January 7, 2011, was clearly planned, conspired and hatched as the mosque committee wrote to the new DPO warning him of bloodshed if they did not take drastic action on the Brothers.
On Friday, January 7, 2011, the Brothers conducted their preaching peacefully, and suddenly some thugs emerged from nowhere, locked all the gates into the mosque and started hurling stones at worshippers. There was commotion and chaos in and around the mosque. The masterminds began distributing weapons stored in the house of one Aminu mai gyaran janareto, which they used in inflicting severe wounds on people without consideration. The thugs burnt down Fudiyya School belonging to the Brothers, a house of a brother by name Muhammad Sani Kafinta and looted houses of some known Brothers in the area.
We are however surprised that, following this, some selected Brothers were fingered for arrests instead of apprehending the real known culprits that planned and perpetrated the dastardly attack.
OUR STAND
Ø We believe that in any civilised society like ours, the maintenance and securing public life, safety, property, Law and Order is not only necessary but obligatory.
Ø That the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 has guaranteed and enshrined Fundamental Rights to all citizens as encapsulated in Chapter IV thereof. Thus, nobody shall be deprived of those Fundamental Rights except through a due process of Law.
Ø That some group of people should not be allowed to take Law in to their hands, for political and personal reasons, by attacking innocent and peace-loving citizens based on a hidden motive to destabilise the recovered peaceful atmosphere in Kaduna State.
OUR OBSERVATION
We have observed, as stated above, that some group of people who are suppose to be community leaders are seriously committed to breach the existing peace in Rigasa in particular and Kaduna State in general by employing thugs who attacked Brothers in the Mosque. This is because Brothers have constantly invoke all measures to avert the attack through dialogue and consultations but to no avail.
PRAYER
It is our submission that the Commissioner of Police will step up to his Constitutional and Legal responsibilities by bringing the perpetrators of the Friday attack to book.
Cc: His Excellency, The Executive Governor of Kaduna state.
The Hon. Speaker, Kaduna State House of Assembly.
The Director, SSS.
The Secretary-General, JNI.
His Royal Highness, the Emir of Zazzau.
The National Human Rights Commission.
O/C operation Yaki.
The DPO, Rigasa.
The District Head of Rigasa
Mohammed Awwal Rigasa
On behalf of Muslim Brothers in Rigasa, Kaduna.
End item/ 129