Shiites protest outside London embassy calling for Nigeria's Commonwealth suspension

HUNDREDS of Shiite Muslims have stepped up vigils outside the Nigerian high commission in London calling for the country to be expelled from the Commonwealth over the recent shooting of its members in Zaria and the arrest of their leader Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky.

 

Over a week ago, at least 20 members of the Shiite sect the Islamic Movement of Nigeria were shot dead in Zaria in a clash with the army, who claimed they planned to assassinate the chief of army staff Lt General Tukur Buratai. Following the clash, soldiers returned to Sheikh El-Zakzaky's house to arrest him where a further altercation occurred, believed to have led to the death of his wife Zeenat and his son Aliyu.

 

Sheikh El-Zakzaky is currently in detention and may face charges for inciting violence and planning to resort to terrorism. His arrest, however, has sparked outrage in the global Shiite community, with Iran, the spiritual home of Shiites summoning the Nigerian ambassador there and numerous demonstrations have been held worldwide calling for his release.

 

Over the last week, protesters have converged outside the Nigerian high commission in London for a rally organised by the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), chanting slogans in condemnation of the Zaria killings. They have asked that the perpetuators be brought to justice and Sheikh El-Zakzaky be released immediately.

 

IHRC chairman Massoud Shadjarah, said: “More than a thousand innocent unarmed people have been systemically killed for nothing whatsoever. The reality is that all of what these people have done is to challenge injustice.”

 

They also condemned the silence of the international community over the carnage in Nigeria as compared to a series of deadly attacks in Paris on November 13, when over 130 people were killed and scores injured in shootings and explosions. According to the protesters, no one has condemned the attack, which even President Muhammadu Buhari has failed to comment on.

 

One protester said: “It is a massacre potentially ten times the size of what happened in Paris and what hurts even more is hardly a single sound bite has been dedicated to the massacre of these people. Do Africans’ lives mean less than the Europeans’ lives?

 

Nigeria's government has come under strong criticisms from international human rights groups and activists for violating religious and social freedoms, including attacks on the peaceful Shiite gathering. In July 2014, the Nigerian Army stormed a Shiite gathering in Zaria called to condemn the Israeli military campaign against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip and a number of people were fatally shot, including Sheikh El-Zakzaky's three sons.