Human rights lawyer and advocate Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), has in a recent petition stated that about 492 members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria popularly known as Shiites have been killed by Nigeria’s security forces including the police and the army.
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Femi Falana petitioned the National Human Rights Commission to demand a probe into the deaths of 492 shiites by the army and police since 2014.
The petitioned dated November 2, 2018 was addressed to the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, Mr. Anthony Ojukwu.
Mr. Falana also issued a 7 day ultimatum to the commission to accede to his demands or face an inquest from the International Court.
Mr. Falana threatened to report “the genocidal acts and crimes against humanity” being committed by Nigeria’s Security agencies on behalf of the Nigerian Government to the Special Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in contravention of Article 7 of the Rome Statute.
Excerpts from his letter titled; Request for investigation of the illegal killing of 492 Shi’ites by the Army and the Police from 2014-2018, read;
“In order to restrain the heads of the Nigeria Army, Nigeria Police Force and State Security Service (who are Sunnis) from further deploying the machinery of the Federal Government to prosecute an intra-religious war, we urge you to arrest the extermination of the Shi’ites without any further delay.
Since the nation cannot afford to turn the Islamic Movement of Nigeria into another terrorist organisation like the satanic Boko Haram sect, we request the National Human Rights Commission to conduct a full scale inquiry into the gross violations of the fundamental rights of the Shi’ites highlighted in this letter.
Take notice that if you fail to grant our request within seven days of the receipt of this letter, we shall not hesitate to report the genocidal acts and crimes against humanity being committed by well known officials of the security agencies to the Special Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in contravention of article 7 of the Rome Statute.
The request will be anchored on the unwillingness or inability of the Federal Government to prosecute the criminal elements who are involved in the reckless massacre of the Shi’ites.”
Falana stated further in the petition that that not less than 492 Shi’ites were “recklessly massacred in Zaria, Kaduna, Sokoto, Kano and Abuja by armed military and police personnel” since 2014.