The Nigerian army has been indicted in the killing of at least 347 members of the Shi’a Muslim group in Zaria.
Amongst those indicted are Adeniyi Oyebade, General Officer Commanding the Nigerian Army’s 1st Division and other senior army officers.
It was reported that Oyebade authorized the operation, which led to the massacre of the 347 civilians.
Premium Times reports that the commission of inquiry said the army officers should be prosecuted for the attack.
The commission of inquiry said though it lacked the cooperation of military officials to establish the actual number of those killed, it was able to confirm the death of 349 people, including a soldier.
“All the officers who testified were not forthcoming in providing full disclosure on the number of the dead, wounded and missing persons,” the report said.
“There was no evidence that there was the requisite delegation by the president to the officer who issued oral order for the deployment of the officers and men of the Nigerian Army for the cordon and search operation,” the report added.
The judicial commission of inquiry which suggested ways of preventing similar incidents in future recommended that Oyebade and other yet-to-be-disclosed officers who participated in the operation “should be brought to trial before a court of competent jurisdiction”.