Children of Shiite members who were killed during the Shiite-Nigerian army face-off in Zaria, have marched the streets of Kaduna on Thursday, demanding the release of their leader Ibraheem El-Zakzaky and his wife, Zainab El-Zakzaky.
DAILY NIGERIAN reports that the protest, led by school-going-aged children, is aimed at seeking justice from the Federal Government against the perpetrators.
The Shiite group also known as the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, had recently called on the Federal Government to obey court orders to unconditionally release Sheikh Zakzaky.
According to the spokesperson of the group, Ibrahim Musa, IMN would among other things commemorate the two-year anniversary of the Zaria massacre with peaceful processions in Abuja.
“Will peacefully mark the two-year Zaria massacre memorial between 12 and 14 December 2017 solemnly and peacefully in Abuja with series of activities slated for the purpose.
“It has become expedient to make “clarification that the Islamic Movement in Nigeria has never employed the use of violence or the issuance of threats of violence in its entire four decades of existence to anyone, group or authority.
“This is not about to change. Some recent false flag calls issued reminiscent of previous calls used to attack us and disrupt our peaceful events seem to be again sounded recently,” the movement said.
The movement alleged that the security forces ascribe violence to them in order to swing public opinion against them especially their campaigns to free Zakzaky and justify the December 2015 massacre.
“We are aware of this two-faced machination of the security to pretend they are working to enforce peace and security while in fact, they mean evil.
“They have kept Sheikh Zakzaky in incommunicado detention, while claiming to keep him in protective custody, without access to adequate medical attention in clear contempt of valid court judgment declaring their action as unconstitutional and that he is set free.”
The movement added: “We wish to once again reject any suggestion of threats of violence in our name. The Islamic Movement is not and will not be responsible for any breach of peace or violence that will result from any false-flag plots.
“We will continue to employ all lawful, legal and constitutional means as we have done throughout these two years of state-perpetrated persecution to achieve our goals, and would not be blackmailed into submission or surrender.
“Our timely rallies, processions, and campaign activities will continue as at when due and in our ways without fear of intimidation. We will also continue to seek redress in national and international courts of justice as we have done in the past twenty-four months,” he concluded.